Star Fox: Cerinian Adventures
by general whitefur
Summary: Following a phantom signal for the Cornerian Military Fox is shot down over the planet Cerinia. His arrival there is no accident however. The planet is in danger from the remnants of Andross's evil empire and, along with a blue vixen and her companions, Fox must find a way to stop a deadly weapon...or watch Cerinia burn.
1. Chapter 1 Arrival

Star Fox

Cerinian Adventures

Chapter 1

Arrival

Fox leaned his head against the headrest inside of his Arwing. Three days. Three days following a phantom signal with nothing to show for it. Well, at least nothing to show for it except being tired, hungry, and definitely a little smellier than usual. Arwings didn't come with showers, he would probably reek when he finally got out of his ship, whenever that might be.

He had been following this phantom signal for the past three days at the request of general Pepper of the Cornerian Defense Force, apparently it matched the signature of one of Andross's old monstrosities, though the general had told him regretfully that the CDF wasn't quite sure which one of the many monstrous science experiments of the late researcher turned dictator it belonged to specifically. Fox still hadn't hesitated, if it belonged to Andross he had every intention of helping his fellow Lylatians destroy it. Andross's creations possessed a bad habit of being both lethal and insidious, prompting the necessity of their destruction. There were still lingering concerns about the implications of the recently discovered evidence that the mad scientist had been experimenting with nanotechnology just before Fox had killed him.

Fox tried not to think about all of this too often, many of his friends worried that he might be becoming borderline obsessive since the death of his father, and there were times when Fox worried about it as well. He could have moved on with his life after finally defeating Andross, could have gotten any job, any position he wanted. The payment from the Cornerian government alone would have been enough to live on for years. But, well, that just wasn't the kind of vulpine he was. He didn't feel quite right about settling down to a quiet and ordinary life, not when there were still so many things left undone, so many wrongs left unrighted. Peppy worried that Fox wouldn't let himself rest until he had solved all the world's problems, which of course meant he would keel over dead from exhaustion long before his time. Fox tried not to worry about that though, for now he had a signal to follow, and it looked like it might actually be leading him somewhere after all.

The image of a star system began to resolve on his sensors. The system had only one planet, though the planet possessed a total of three moons, one of which registered as habitable. Those same sensors indicated that the planet itself possessed a breathable atmosphere and was mostly water, though there were several large islands and tens of thousands of smaller ones. Most of these landmassess were clustered around the tropical zones along the equator, and the scanners were also detecting life signs on both the moon and the planet. "Hmmm. Strange, most of the places where we've been finding Andross's lost toys have been uninhabited." Fox checked again to make certain the signal was indeed emanating from the planetary system. It was.

Ordinarily his Arwing would never have been able to take him there on its own, its sublight engines and maneuvering thrusters would never have been enough to travel to another star system, even traveling between two planets would have potentially taken weeks unassisted by a carrier vessel. Slippy however, working in conjunction with Fara Phoenix at Space Dynamics, had come up with a rather ingenious solution, both of which were currently clamped onto his G-diffusers. The Attachable Warp Flight Engine had been proposed by the Cornerian military in response to the shortage of available capital ships in the wake of the Lylat Wars. Since the Defense Force needed ships that could effectively patrol the space lanes as well as take on scouting missions such as the one Fox currently found himself on the idea had been floated that perhaps a warp drive that could be attached to a starfighter would solve the problem. Now, several years after the original proposal Fox and several hundred other pilots were field testing the first model. The device, in Fox's own humble opinion, was junk. Sure it could get you where you were going but it drew so much power that weapons and shields would take a minimum of thirty seconds to come back online after dropping out of warp, an eternity in a hostile situation. It was, however, Fox's only option at the moment.

With a sigh Fox keyed up the system, maxed out his inertial dampeners, and initiated warp flight. As the Arwing began to accelerate the stars turned into lines, then blurred, and finally resolved into a simple whitish-blue glow. He was thrown back in his seat, straining against the g-forces even with his inertial dampeners at maximum. Then once this ship's velocity stabilized he found he was able to breathe again. Yet another thing Fara and Slippy would have to work out for the next model. True the g-forces wouldn't kill you, but they were still bad enough that it made Fox worry just slightly. No one, after all, wanted to be turned into a sticky paste clinging to the back of their seat, it would just be far too embarrassing when the techs popped the hatch and saw you there, dripping all over your cockpit.

Settling in for the trip that, even at the speed of several multiples of the speed of light, would take at least five hours, Fox decided to get some much needed sleep so that he could continue the search in this new system fully awake.

Fox woke with a start to the beeping noise of his engine monitor informing him they were about to decelerate into normal space. Seconds later Fox felt himself thrown forward in his seat as the Arwing came out of warp and..."What the!" Fox exclaimed as a searing bolt of crimson energy lanced past his cockpit. Was that laser fire?

"Alert, hostile target lock." His tactical console informed him.

"Yeah, thanks." Fox grunted. "Time to do some real flying." Fox could feel the adrenaline rush, the spike in his alertness that he sometimes found himself craving, a spike that could only really be found in combat, knowing that your life was very much in your own hands, something few people ever really managed to experience in their lives.

Flipping his Arwing into an evasive roll he tried to get a reading on how many hostiles there were. His scanners were picking up three ships, not the worst odds he had ever faced by any stretch of the imagination. Another bolt of laser fire flew past him, grazing his starboard wing. The hull plating glowed and several centimeters melted off before Fox could go evasive again. "Dang it, shields still aren't up." He needed to get these guys off of him, at least for the ten or fifteen seconds it would take to get defensive systems back online. Fox decided a different tactic might be in order. Touching a control on his communications panel he said, "Attacking vessels this is Fox McCloud of team Star Fox, I am on official business for the Lylatian government, please break off your attack." His attackers responded with more laser fire.

Another beeping noise coming from his tactical console distracted him. "Damn it." Fox breathed. Three more vessels were inbound, and judging by the vector of their approach they weren't coming to lend a hand. The Awring's shield system came online just as another burst of laser fire connected, the shields on his port side flared from the impact. "That didn't work. Alright boys, time to make you work for it." Fox brought the nose of his ship up, or at least what passed for up in space, before proceeding to face the oncoming ships head on. His targeting reticle landed on the first vessel and Fox squeezed the triggers. _BANG!_

Fox was thrown against the side of his cockpit as the hull around him reverberated with what felt like a physical impact. Consoles sparked and Fox looked out at his starboard side. His eyes confirmed his worst fear, his starboard wing, damaged in the initial volley, had buckled and torn off under the stress of his maneuvering. He could still fly, Arwings were designed to be flyable even if both wings were lost, but it still wasn't ideal. "Fuck." He breathed. "Six ships, no weapons, one wing gone. Only one option left."

Sending his ship into a sharp dive he made for the planet, hoping against all hope that whoever had decided to attack him would be unwilling to follow him. His descent into the atmosphere of the as-yet unidentified planet did prove to be a deterrent to his attackers, though not enough that they were unwilling to launch the guided missile they sent after him. All of the aileron loops, rolls, spins, and every other trick Fox knew weren't enough to do more than prevent the missile from impacting on his engine core. Instead he lost his last remaining wing, this prompted his desperate though marginally controlled descent towards the planet to turn into the equivalent of a large shiny brick falling towards the nearest island he could aim for. "Great." Fox said through gritted teeth. "Here comes the fun part."

* * *

><p>Krystal's eyes opened slowly as she woke from an impromptu mid-morning nap. The soft, cool grass of the ground near the small, secluded stream felt heavenly on her back, especially as her front was warmed by the rays of the Cerinian sun that shone through the break in the foliage over the stream. Nothing like a nap in the sun on a lazy day.<p>

Her ears perked at the sound of splashing coming from the stream. Glancing over she spotted her sister, Fiora, emerging from the water. She still wore her loin cloth, though it seemed that in the time since Krystal had fallen asleep her sister had dispensed with the brass top. "I see you've arisen." Fiora said. "Sleep well?"

Krystal stretched her limbs and let out a moan before turning on her side to better regard her sister. "Wonderfully. I see you managed to get your top off."

Fiora laid herself down on the grass next to her sister. "Just letting them breathe a bit. These tops were not designed for the women of our family."

Krystal laughed and nodded. "This is true. Course it never bothered mother all that much."

"No." Fiora's muzzle curled in a crooked smile. "No she was too busy dancing nude in the fertility rites with father to be bothered with these things." Fiora grasped her top which lay concealed under the fronds of a nearby fern.

"Mmm. No wonder father fell in love with her." Krystal replied. "Where's Decius?"

"Oh he's still under the waterfall."

"Doing what?"

"Meditating. Or at least trying to. What else?" Fiora answered, closing her eyes and taking a long breath through her nose. "I love the smell of the forest."

Krystal's tail swished across the grass as she picked at it with her fingers. "Of course you do. You were always running away and getting lost in it as a child. It must be a second home to you."

Fiora regarded her younger sister for a moment. "Do I sense a reproof?"

Chuckling Krystal said, "If you were using your senses you would know those were fond memories. After all, with you away I could sneak into your room and play with your toys." There was silence for a moment as Fiora digested this, then Krystal added, "I still do you know."

"What? Sneak into my room and play with my toys?" Fiora's own tail began to wag. "Sister, if I had known I would have gotten you one or two of your own. Which ones do you..." Fiora stopped suddenly, ears perking up and her eyes raising to the sky. "Do you feel that?"

Krystal's own gaze traveled up to the cloudless sky with her sister's. She sensed something. Desperate, tightly controlled fear, bordering on panic. Not an animal, her senses would have filtered that out as she had learned to do as a child, so this was definitely a person. "Where is it coming from do you think?"

"Up." Fiora said, standing and clasping her brass top on. "Decius!"

Decius emerged from behind the waterfall a second later, waving. "I sense it too. What do you need?"

"Go back to the town and tell my mother and father we've gone to investigate, they'll have sensed it as well." Fiora looked at her sister only a moment before a loud noise like a clap of thunder shook the trees down to their roots. All three vulpines clamped their hands over their ears.

Krystal looked up and saw what looked like a meteor hurtling down towards the ground. "Xec jxak." She intoned. The hurtling object disappeared behind the trees and a moment later an impact shook the ground. "Did you see that?"

Decius, who had made his way to shore nodded. "Looked like a meteor."

"Meteors don't have minds that would be crying out for help." Krystal responded. "It was a ship."

Fiora, eyes closed, said, "I can still sense whoever it was. He's injured though, fading in and out." She opened her eyes to look at her sister. "Your sixth sense is stronger than mine sister, can you lead us to him?"

Extending her telepathic senses outward Krystal locked onto the mind of the stranger who had just crashed. "Yes. Decius, go back to the town like my sister told you, tell them we'll be bringing back an injured person."

"Alright. Good luck." Decius said before heading off in the direction of the town a mile or so distant.

Fiora extended her arm and said, "After you sister."

Crossing the river Krystal led the way through the thick forest. The area in which they were in was not one of the more traveled areas, thus there were no real paths to speak of. That didn't make much of a difference to Krystal and Fiora however, both had spent their lives exploring the wilds around their village, and they knew them like the back of their hand.

As they walked, keeping a brisk pace, Krystal maintained a tenuous connection with the mind of whoever had been piloting the craft. She could discern very little about him, in fact for all she knew it might have been a female, or perhaps a species with completely different sexes. All she could tell for certain was that the person in question was alive and that they were injured, their consciousness fading in and out.

Batting aside a collection of vines in her path Krystal said, "Shame you didn't bring your sword, we would make better time if we could just cut through all this."

"Oh come on sister, where's your spirit of adventure?" Fiora said. "Our ancestors never had any fancy cutting implements to help them through the jungle."

Krystal huffed and replied, "We aren't our ancestors."

Fiora laughed and patted her sister on the shoulder. "No, I suppose we aren't."

The two girls continued to trek through the dense vegetation of their native jungle. Under ordinary circumstances the riot of green trees and ferns, the multicolored flowers, and the background noise of bird calls and animal cries would have been quite beautiful, especially thanks to the current lack of insects, but these weren't normal circumstances. Right now Krystal wished whoever had crashed would have had the courtesy to aim for a field or clearing, somewhere where help could have reached them more easily. Instead she and her sister would be forced to cut through the jungle and hope that they would be able to return to the town in time to get the help they would need. Inconvenient or not though both Krystal and her sister didn't intend to shirk their responsibility, someone needed help, and they would never have considered not giving it.

Krystal's nose twitched as an acrid scent began to fill her nostrils. "Smell that?"

Fiora nodded. "Smoke. We must be close. Can you still sense whoever it is?"

"Yes. They're weak but steady."

A few moments later Krystal pushed aside a pair of fern growths and looked out at a long stretch of devastated jungle. Trees were sheared down to their stumps, the soft wet soil upturned everywhere, and, at the end of it, the smoking wreck of what looked like it might once have been a rather proud vessel. Krystal and Fiora sprinted for it, making their way around the engine which was belching smoke.

Reaching the cockpit Krystal gazed inside through the clear glass, spotting the pilot. He was a fox, probably a bit older than her, and his fur was orange. Strange, she had never seen orange fur, only ever her own blue, her sister's blood red, and Decius's far more uncommon black and magenta. Orange seemed so...well strange was really the only word for it.

She didn't dwell on that for long however, she needed to get the cockpit open, and she didn't like the way the engine was smoking. "Help me get this open."

The two vixens began straining against the cockpit, trying in vain to force it open. Both of them quickly realized that something meant to be vacuum proof was probably also proof against a pair of vixens trying to open it from the outside. Looking back inside Krystal spotted what looked like an emergency release, which, of course, wouldn't do them any good unless they could get inside. The pilot didn't look like he was in any shape to help though.

"There's a crack here." Fiora said. "Maybe we could break the glass?"

"Best bet." Krystal responded.

Fiora hopped down and grabbed one of the thicker dismembered branches. Hefting it she returned to the cockpit and bashed it against the glass once, twice, three times, and on the fourth time it broke just enough for one of them to reach inside and pull the lever. The cockpit unsealed with a hydraulic hiss, and both girls were then able to lift it the rest of the way. Once they had opened it enough to reach in Krystal grabbed the pilot and dragged him from the cockpit. He was a bit heavier than he looked, no doubt owing to the hard muscle Krystal could feel on him.

Krystal heard something then, a long, pained squeal that seemed to be coming from the engine. Eyes widening she looked at her sister and said, "Run!"

Fiora didn't hesitate, breaking off at full tilt for the cover of the jungle. Krystal slung the pilot's arm over her shoulders and did her best to keep up. Just as she reached the thick foliage of the jungle the heat and force of an explosion shoved her off her feet and face first into the ground. For a moment she wondered if she might be dead, then she heard the ringing in her ears and realized that that probably wasn't a feature of the afterlife.

"Sister!"

She felt Fiora begin to help her up. "I'm all right." She breathed. "Help me with him. We need to get him back to town."

"Right." Fiora grabbed the pilot's other arm and put it over her shoulders. "Time to get some exercise."

Krystal shook her head and grunted. She would be covered in sweat by the time they reached home, but at least this stranger wouldn't be incinerated.

* * *

><p>AN: Putting these on the bottom now. Anyways this is my new multi-chap. After much back and forth between myself and myself I have decided on doing and posting another Star Fox multi-chap in conjunction with my original stories. After all the important thing isn't what you write it's just that you make sure and write.

So basically this story is my own version of Star Fox Adventures taking place on Cerinia, though it won't follow the Adventures plot line too closely. I came up with the idea because I think it is criminal that Krystal didn't play a larger role in Adventures, that and Adventures is a better basis for my preferred style of story. Fox/Krystal romance! Revel in the canoness.

Other than that I just thought I would mention that, yes, Fiora and Decius are back. I've been trying for months now to integrate my OCs into stories of their own and...well I think they all wanted to stay in Lylat despite me, so they're back. And that includes Bonny!

Now that's quite enough from me, though before I go do please leave a review if you can, I love to know what you guys are thinking about my writing!

-general whitefur


	2. Chapter 2 Awoken

Chapter 2

Awoken

Fox woke slowly. His head hurt. A lot. He felt as if he were waking up after one of Katt or Fara's wilder parties. As he opened his eyes he noted that he was no longer in his cockpit. The ceiling above him, painted with lavish scenes of what looked like a harvest, were definitely not what he had last seen through his cockpit bubble. Letting out a groan he looked to his side and stopped in mid noise, staring. There, silhouetted against the sunlight streaming into the room from an open window, sat one of the most beautiful vixens he had ever seen. She had blue fur, strange but not at all unattractive. Her form, slender but with some rather generous curves, made him begin to think things that, had his head not been in extreme pain, likely would have made him shake it to try and clear them out. He noticed her tail twitching, the fur there was blue like the rest of her, and apparently so bushy she felt the need to contain it with a pair of silver rings.

The vixen turned to look at him and smiled. "You're awake I see."

She spoke Cornerian. Well, that wasn't necessarily that strange, a lot of people spoke Cornerian. "Where am I?" He asked, the voice that emerged from his throat didn't sound all that familiar. He realized then that he was parched.

Getting up from her seat the vixen walked over to him, and Fox noticed how the light glinted off of her top. Was she wearing some sort metal? Pouring water from a silver ewer and into a cup she said, "You are in the town of Tenked on the primary island of the planet Cerinia. Currently though you are occupying a room in my family's house." She handed him the cup, her fingers brushing over his for a second longer than was strictly necessary. "Do you remember what happened?" She asked.

Fox drank the water, registering a slightly sweet taste to it. Once his throat began to feel normal again he said, "I was in orbit. A group of fighters attacked. I got shot down. Last thing I remember clearly was waking up here."

The blue vixen nodded. "It must have been the Kathari. They come from our habitable moon and are very territorial. It's not surprising they chose to shoot first and ask questions later."

"They sound like wonderful people." Fox answered.

The vixen smiled, her tail swishing. "I suppose I should introduce myself. My name is Krystal of clan Zonoc. And you?"

"Oh uh. Fox, Fox McCloud." Fox stumbled when he noticed the way she looked him over in that moment. She seemed to be...eyeing him with a little smile on her lips as she stood there. Fox always blushed when women smiled at him, and this Krystal, well, Fox felt safe in saying he had never seen a woman quite as lovely as her.

"Well Fox Fox McCloud it's best if you stay here and rest awhile longer. You took a nasty blow to the head, as well as a rather impressive assortment of cuts and bruises. Doctor says you'll be fine, but you do need to rest. I'll know if you need anything."

Krystal turned and began to make her way towards the door, Fox's eyes following her all the way, noting the sultry sway of her hips and tail. He wondered briefly if she always walked like that. He was so distracted he didn't bother to ask just how she would know if he needed anything.

* * *

><p>After closing the door behind her Krystal made her way down the hall to the house shrine, making certain to keep a passive mental link with Fox. From what she could tell the doctor had done his work very well. The most serious injury Fox had had when he arrived had been a rather nasty concussion, but now it appeared to be almost completely healed, along with another far older head wound of the same variety. What kind of people didn't heal brain injuries as easily done as that? Oh well, it didn't really matter, he would be fine in a couple of hours and that would be that. Of course he probably wouldn't be happy to hear that his ship had been destroyed. A shame, it had looked like a vessel worth learning how to pilot.<p>

Entering the shrine she spotted her mother Sapphire, a vixen with ice blue fur, long hair, and curves that only seemed to grow more appealing with age, kneeling in front of the little statue of the goddess of healing, eyes closed and head down. The statue was nestled in an alcove between the goddess of life and the goddess of fertility. All three of the statues were holding a gemstone above their heads, each of the stones shining with an inner light. Taking a seat on the meditation pad next to the older vixen Krystal muttered the ritual intonation for a healing request and then closed her eyes to meditate silently. After a few minutes her mother asked, "How is he?"

"Much better." Krystal replied. "He's coherent now. Doctor did his work well."

"That's good to hear." Silence. Then her mother said, "You are attracted to him aren't you?"

Krystal's eyes shot open and she looked at her mother. The other vixen was actually smirking at her, just slightly, the way her mother always did when she was teasing. Relaxing a bit Krystal replied, "Yes."

Her mother smiled then and answered, "In that case I'll continue to leave him in your care."

"Thank you mother."

"Think nothing of it Krystal. Though I'll still be expecting you to help me later this evening."

"With what?" Krystal asked, not remembering.

"Dancing. You and I are supposed to teach some of the novice priestesses the harvest dance." Sapphire reminded her.

"Oh." Krystal nodded. "Joy. I'll get to watch them trip all over themselves." Her tail wagged briefly at the thought, belying her more sarcastic tone.  
>Her mother stood up and answered with a wag of her own tail. "Just be happy I don't have you teaching them the mating or the fertility dances yet, it takes an hour for them just to stop blushing and giggling."<p>

"Oh I'm sure I'll have to deal with it eventually." Krystal said, remembering her own experiences at age sixteen learning those dances for the first time. The level of intimacy could be a bit hard to get used to at first, though now that she had mastered them both she rarely batted an eye at the thought of doing them every spring and summer.

"Are you staying here?" Her mother inquired, brushing a stray lock of blue hair from in front of her eyes.

"Yes, I think I'll do a few more intonations for Fox." Her mother looked at her questioningly. "Our guest. His name is Fox."

"Of course. Just don't be late for your class." With that her mother stepped out of the room, hips swaying and tail swishing, walking in the same sultry confident manner she had passed down to her daughter.

* * *

><p>"You can do better than that."<p>

Decius gritted his teeth as he bit back a flippant remark. Fiora only meant to encourage him in her own peculiar manner. His hands were closed around his Cerinian combat staff, and his mind was desperately trying to convince the thing that it should dispel a cloud of freezing cold for more than the two seconds he had been able to manage for the past week.

"That's your problem."

"What?" Decius looked at where his lover stood, arms crossed over the ample mounds of chest. Decius did his best not to be distracted, she really was beautiful. Judging by the brief look of annoyance she gave him she had sensed his straying thoughts, though she said nothing, making certain she represented the focus she expected from him.

"You keep thinking of it as if it's a thing, some inanimate object." Fiora explained, her face returning to its previous patient expression.

"Well what else am I supposed to think of it as?" Decius asked, magenta tipped tail flicking in irritation.

Fiora sighed and drew her sword, called a zaud, a straight, thin bladed weapon just a few inches beyond two feet in length, and aimed it at one of the dummies in the practice field on the outskirts of town. Without appearing to do anything she sent a bolt of lightning from the the point of the sword and into one of the shock resistant targets. The electricity arced and then faded, leaving a scorch mark in the exact center of the dummy. "I see my sword as a part of myself. It is alive, I give it life, and it will do anything it is capable of so long as I am willing to believe in it. You do not believe in it. You think what you want it to do rather than simply will that it be done. Until you can find a way to stop thinking and simply start doing you are never going to get your weapon to do all that it can do. Begin again."

Decius grunted and took aim at his dummy. He closed his eyes and tried his best to see the dummy not as it was, but as he wanted it to be, covered in a thin coating of ice. His staff vibrated slightly in his hands and the air grew cooler. Decius opened his eyes and watched the freezing blue mist emanating from the tip of his staff, it traveled through the air and began to envelop the dummy, he could just see the ice crystals beginning to form.

"Stop."

"What?" The ice was beginning to grow thicker, he almost had it. His body began to shiver, but that must have just been the cold air from his staff.

"I said stop!" Fiora reached out with her arm and pushed his staff down towards the ground. His concentration slipped and the icy mist disappeared.

Angry he turned on the blood red vixen and said, "I almost had it!"

"You almost passed out." Fiora replied. "Breathe slowly."

Decius realized suddenly that his breath was coming in rapid pants. He could feel sweat on his brow and under his arms. His head hurt a bit as well. And he was thirsty.

Sensing his thoughts Fiora motioned him over to the small circular fountain at the edge of the training square. Decius followed and dunked his head in when he arrived before lapping at the cool water. "What did I do wrong this time?" He asked, he felt dejected. Months of training with the staff and the only thing he could do effectively was summon the fireblaster, the most basic of combat functions. Fiora and her sister on the other hand were masters of their chosen weapons. Fiora used the lightning bolt of her sword effortlessly, and Krystal could open sacred portals with her staff, the single most difficult ability to master.

"You concentrated."

He looked at her, eyes questioning. "Should I not have been?"

"Let me put it in terms you'll understand better." Fiora began. "When we make love how much concentration do you put into bumping your hips against mine?"

Decius blushed a bit at her metaphor, so typical of her. "Not much. I don't think about much of anything when we do that. I just...do it."

Fiora nodded, tail wagging. "Right. You need to be able to do the same thing when you use your staff. You need to just do it. The more conscious thought you lavish on the action you want the more energy it will take your mind to produce it. Remember, you yourself aren't capable of producing a freezing mist or a fireball, that's why our people invented these weapons, so that they could do it for us. And, on a more practical note, in the middle of a fight you aren't going to have time to stand and concentrate on using your staff's abilities, you'll have to be able to summon them at will. Do you want to keep practicing?"

A smile curled across Decius's muzzle. "I think I'd rather find a shady spot and practice some hip bumping. It might help train my mind to do things without thinking."

Fiora laughed and said, "I'll make you a deal. If you can keep at this for the next hour I'll let you try your method of practice."

Decius's smile widened and he gave her a kiss on the cheek. "It's a deal."

* * *

><p>Fox had never been good at just resting. He could certainly relax and be lazy between missions, his video game binges were considered legendary by his friends, but when he knew he had something to do the thought of just laying around and resting rarely crossed his mind. During the final stages of the Lylat War he had survived mainly off of coffee, sugar, and anything else that could keep him going for just an hour longer. He had even flirted with an addiction to stimulant injections, something Miyu continued to give him hell about as she kept an ever watchful gaze on him. Revenge could push a person to do some questionable things, and Fox was thankful he possessed the will power to honor his oath never to use one of those stimulant injections again, no matter the situation.<p>

What this meant however was that he couldn't bear to stay in his room, comfortable though it was, for more than a few minutes now that he was awake. Swinging his legs off of the bed Fox stood up. Something didn't feel right. Looking down at himself his eyes widened, when had he changed into a linen tunic? Looking around he noticed that his clothes were nowhere to be found, the only things in the room were a writing desk, a chair, and the bedside stand with the silver ewer. His ears reddened as he realized what that probably meant. He did his best to clear the mental image of Krystal undressing him from his mind, though truth be told it wasn't the most unpleasant mental image imaginable. He noticed then that his scent seemed changed as well, it no longer carried the sharpened musk of three days without a shower. He blushed even more when he realized what that probably meant, once again trying to will away the mental image that conjured, even if this one didn't feel all that unpleasant either.

He slid the door open and stepped out of the room. "Ah!" His hands flew up to shield his eyes from the sunlight streaming into the corridor through the open windows lining the wall. Though the sunlight had been penetrating his room it had been filtered through colored glass, softening the brightness considerably. His eyes adjusted after a moment and Fox glanced down either side of the ornately decorated hallway, noting the stone carvings along the walls, all of them made in a flowing, curling motif that reminded him of water. Deciding to take a left he walked until he noticed the view outside. The town he was in stretched out in a circular pattern of wooden buildings and winding cobblestone streets. He could see people walking about, all of them in what looked to him like distinctly tribal wear. Females and males wore tunics or loincloths, and he felt himself blush when he noticed that wearing a top, or, when he looked closely despite himself, any clothing at all, appeared optional for both males and females. The pelt colorations seemed rather uniform, red and blues mostly, though he spotted a few blacks and magentas in the mix. It seemed rather odd, he had never in his life even imagined pelt colorings like these ones, well, except the red ones, those were pretty common in Lylat. Then again he reminded himself, melanistic variation among his own kind was hardly unheard of in Lylat, all that differed between there and here seemed to be the specific colors involved.

Along with the people in the streets below he saw carts moving along the roads, all of them pulled by striped tan beasts of burden. Actually much of what he could see appeared rather primitive. A sense of dread descended on him as he realized he might very well have landed on a planet home to a pre-warp culture. If he had it would make accomplishing his mission and then getting home much more difficult.

His eyes were drawn to the horizon when he noticed what looked a ship climbing into the atmosphere. Judging by the angle of its ascent the vessel was definitely intent on leaving the planet. _Ok, maybe not so primitive._

"No, we're just better at hiding our technology."

Fox jumped at the sound of the voice behind him. Turning he saw Krystal standing there with an amused look on her face. "Um, come again?"

"You were just thinking about our level of technology. I assure you we have warp ships, we can get you home." Krystal explained.

Fox's jaw hung open for a minute. How had she guessed that?

"I didn't guess. I'm a telepath. And, forgive me for saying so but you're a bit of an open mind."

Fox's eyes widened and he said, "A telepath? You read minds?"

"Mmhmm." The look of amusement on her face shifted then, a bit of color coming to her ears before they folded down. "Oh gods you didn't know did you?"

"Uh no." Fox said.

Krystal suddenly looked almost panicky as she said, "Please forgive me then, I didn't mean to be reading your thoughts. I just assumed..."

Fox reached out a hand and grasped her shoulder. "It's all right." He assured her. "Most people who know me are about as good at guessing what I'm thinking."

The blue vixen glanced at his hand on her shoulder before saying, "Thank you. But it's still rude of me to have taken your thoughts."

Noticing her gaze Fox blushed slightly and removed his hand. Why had he done that? It wasn't like him to just reach out and touch someone, even people he knew. Strange, but something about this woman put him at ease, or at least off guard. "I don't see how you could have known. I assume all your people are telepaths."

"Yes." She said. "And within family groups and friends we usually maintain a passive link with each other to ease communication, though we do speak to each other verbally more often than not. I must admit I was keeping a link with you as well, to make certain you were all right. You had a concussion when we brought you back."

Fox frowned. "That's my second one. Which isn't good."

"Oh don't worry, we repaired the damage."

Fox looked taken aback. "How?"

A soft smile curled along Krystal's muzzle. "We're telepaths, healing injuries of the mind, physical and mental, is our specialty."

"Well then it seems I owe you quite a bit." Fox replied, still trying to wrap his head around the idea that his brain no longer sported any bruises.

"I'm sure you'll find a way to make it up to me." Krystal answered, tail swaying behind her.

Fox tried to control the color of his ears, was she flirting with him?

"...would you care to meet her?"

Fox realized suddenly that she was still talking to him. _Damn it McCloud get a grip! She's hardly the first gorgeous woman to flirt with you! Yeah, and you've been a blushing idiot every time. _"Who? Sorry."

Krystal laughed a bit, clearly aware her words had distracted him and seeming to enjoy the fact. "My sister, Fiora. She helped bring you back here. Would you like to meet her? She should be over at the training fields right now."

"If she helped get me here then I think I owe her a thank you at the very least." Fox said, giving his tail a polite wag.

Krystal smiled and replied, "Yes. Shall we?"

Fox nodded. "Lead the way.

* * *

><p>Dr. Sandra Carson's squat form was reflected by the glass window of her lab as the lioness looked out the product of nine years uninterrupted work on the habitable moon of Cerinia. Here, in an underground cavern in the northern polar region sat a device capable of producing enough energy to power an entire star system. A device that could with a single stroke make plasma, solar, wind, and every other source of energy ever used in the galaxy outdated. It could be used to propel intelligent kind to the very heights of achievement, destroying every last vestige of inequality in the universe, and turn the dream of a post-scarcity society into a reality. Or, at least that's what she had meant for it to be.<p>

Nine years ago when she had been contacted by a former colleague about the possibility of turning her dream project into a reality she had been skeptical. The colleague, Dr. Andross, had been exiled to the planet Venom, and his name remained reviled throughout Lylat for the destruction his inventions had visited upon all those who lived in the binary star system. But his offer, limitless funding, any specialist she could ask for, any research, any facility, and, best of all, minimal oversight so that she could work in peace and at a pace faster than she could have ever hoped for at a Cornerian research institute had proved tempting enough that she decided to take him up on his offer.

Now, nine years later her device, a device capable of harnessing the reaction of matter and antimatter to produce limitless clean energy was a reality. She could see it, the prototype, right out of the window of her lab. And she hated it. Hated it with every fiber of her being. That was because Andross had neglected to mention one small detail of the work she would be doing for him. Rather than having her create something that would help to mend civilization's woes he had forced her to make something capable of more destruction than anyone could have ever imagined. It made a nuclear warhead or a plasma cannon look like water balloons and pop guns respectively.

Matter and antimatter were the building blocks of two universes that, while standing completely apart, also commingled with frightening results. When placed together in a chamber they would annihilate each other in a fantastic display of energy. That energy could be harnessed to generate electrical power, enough to make even intergalactic travel possible, given time. On the other hand, if the reaction should be allowed to happen outside of a properly controlled chamber it could annihilate a building, a city, a continent, a world. All that mattered was how much was used. And, with her device, Andross's forces possessed the means to harvest enough antimatter to wipe out the universe if they wanted to. Even now her handler, a wolf named Adalius, was pressuring her to continue her work on a method for creating antimatter warheads. It wouldn't take long, now that she had perfected a method of containing the substance it would be a simple enough matter to build smaller and smaller containment vessels. She refused to tell him how long it would take, mainly because she intended to stall for as long as she could. The news she received from the outside world came only in fragments, and to her critical eye it all seemed patently false. She doubted very much that Andross's forces had won the war he apparently had initiated against the Cornerian military and the Lylatian Federation. But that was what concerned her. She couldn't find any information on the status of her sponsor other than what Adalius told her, and what Adalius told her was nothing. And that made her nervous.

Since Sandra felt confident in saying that the Cornerians had likely not been defeated in their war with Andross, but that for all she knew Andross might very well still be at large, it made the likelihood that her weapon would be used against the Cornerians seem all the more likely. She knew what kind of person Andross was, sick, mad, crazy, insane, all those things and more. If only she could have been thinking those things when he contacted her and made his offer, then she would never have accepted it. Now though, now there didn't seem to be anything she could do. In a few weeks she would have to inform Adalius that the designs for the antimatter warheads were ready to begin prototype construction, and then someones world would burn.

* * *

><p>AN: Well there's chapter two. I decided to upload it this soon as a thank you to all of you people who reviewed, I don't think I've ever gotten that many reviews for a single chapter before, I'm really quite flattered. Hopefully this chapter has answered a question or two that some you might have had about what Cerinia is like, and with any luck it has inspired a few more questions than it answered.

The next chapter will probably take a bit longer to upload than this one, but keep an eye out all the same, my writing and uploading schedule is usually somewhat erratic. Until then feel free to drop a review or a follow, and I'll be seeing all of you next time! Cheerio!

-general whitefur


	3. Chapter 3 Cerinia

Chapter 3

Cerinia

Sapphire walked down the main hallway of the house towards her husband's study. When she reached the wooden door she paused to look at the designs carved into it, all of them depicting various gemstones, with the central one showing a jfahak zonoc, a spirit jewel, the foundation of the Zonoc clan's wealth and influence, as well as Cerinia's civilization. Knocking softly three times she waited for a response, when none was forthcoming she knocked again with more force. No response. She frowned, she knew he was in there, their mental link told her as much. She decided to ask him what was keeping him so busy that he couldn't sense her presence. _Jade? Can I come in?_

Her sensitive vulpine ears picked up on a startled shuffling from inside and a moment later the door opened to reveal her husband, Jade Zonoc. "Yes dear?"

Sapphire arched an eyebrow. "What are you doing in there?"

Jade stepped aside to let her into his study. The room was large and contained a desk, chairs and a couch, and was lit by several open windows. A computer terminal sat on Jade's desk, one of the few overt technological devices in the house, a necessary evil for managing her husband's mercantile and mining interests. "Nothing very interesting."

"I see." Sapphire walked over to the couch before sprawling out on the cushions. She smiled as her husband took his seat at the desk and then watched her. Deciding to be naughty she traced one of her fingers up from near the inside of her thigh, up along her flank, and across the mounds of her chest, before letting it fall on her lips so she could blow him a kiss.

Jade smiled at her and said, "Is there a reason you're here or did you just come by to play?"

Shrugging her shoulders she looked her husband over. While Sapphire's build possessed the litheness of a dancer, as well as the more generous curves that often drew lingering looks, her husband fell into the general category of tall, straight, and narrow. This didn't bother her however, he possessed a lean musculature that she found heavenly to feel against herself, as well as other worthwhile physical endowments that made him quite an appealing husband. And, of course, she loved him dearly. "I just wanted to see how you were doing. You've been locked up in here almost all day. You missed the excitement when Fiora and Krystal brought back our guest."

Jade leaned back in his seat and clasped his hands together. "Yes, how is he?"

"Doing well." Sapphire said. "His name is Fox."

"An...interesting name." Jade said.

"Don't lie. You think it's bloody stupid to name a vulpine Fox." Sapphire gave her a husband a reproving look.

"Are you kidding?" Jade replied. "I would have named our daughters Vixey and Vixis if I had the chance. That's why I let you do the names."

"True." Sapphire was silent for a moment. "Krystal has taken a shine to Fox you know."

That caught Jade's interest. "Really? What kind of a shine?"

"The kind I took to you that night during the Harvest festival."

"Ah." Both of them were silent. Then Jade said, "Do you approve of her being interested in a non-Cerinian?"

Sapphire smiled and answered, "If I weren't married and Krystal's mother I would be flirting with him."

Jade laughed. "I see. Well so long as you approve then I have no objections."

"Good." Sapphire said. "What are you doing by the way?"

"Oh nothing important. Just catching up on a backlog of work. Why?"

Sapphire got up from where she lay sprawled on the couch and moved instead to sit on her husband's lap. Putting her arms around his neck she said, "No reason. It's just that I don't have to be at the temple until later this evening, and Fiora is out and Krystal is leaving right now with our guest..."

Jade's muzzle curled into a smile as he wrapped his own arms around his wife's midsection. "I think I know what you have in mind." He said before their lips met in a slow, sensual kiss, both of them content to spend the afternoon making long, leisurely love to one another.

* * *

><p>Krystal smiled as she led Fox out onto the streets of Tenked. As usual the streets were bustling with activity. Children skittered about as they chased each other, dodging the legs of their parents and older siblings, as well as the wheels of the carts and rickshaws that rolled along the cobblestone pathways. The street vendors were shouting themselves hoarse advertising their wares, insisting that they and they alone possessed the finest quality goods.<p>

"Oi! Krystal!"

Hearing her name called above the din Krystal looked to her right and saw a vixen approaching. The vixen in question was Krystal's height with a similar build, though her stomach was a bit thicker. She carried a bow strung across her back and was dressed in a brass bra and loin cloth similar to the one Krystal and her sister favored. As soon as she got within range Krystal wrapped the other girl in a hug and said, "Emerald! It's so wonderful to see you. Where have you been?"

The vixen, Emerald, smiled and said, "Off on a hunt. Didn't catch a bloody thing though. Have you seen Suri?"

Krystal shook her head. "No, why?"

Emerald smirked and said, "I was hoping to get her to myself for the afternoon."

"Oh. I see." Krystal smiled. "Well I haven't seen her. Though when you find her give her a kiss for me eh?"

Emerald laughed and wagged her tail. "I will. Who's the handsome stud behind you?" Emerald looked past Krystal's shoulder over towards Fox.

Fox for his part simply blushed and moved a little closer to Krystal, looking confused. Krystal realized that she and Emerald were conversing in Cerinian which meant, of course, that Fox hadn't the slightest idea he had just been called a handsome stud. Though considering the look Emerald was giving him he had likely gotten the gist of what the two of them were talking about. Switching back to the language that Fox could understand Krystal said, "This is Fox McCloud. He's the one Fiora and I rescued from the crash."

Emerald nodded her comprehension. "He's a handsome one, like I said."

Now that she was speaking Cornerian Fox really did blush, though he did wag his tail a bit at the compliment. "Uh...thanks."

Smiling Emerald said, "Welcome. Now I'd better go find Suri. I'm sure she's in the middle of something she'd like to be rescued from."

Krystal laughed and waved goodbye as Emerald made her way down the street. She and Fox then set off in the direction of the training fields.

"So, who is she?" Fox asked.

"My cousin." Krystal replied. "On my mother's side."

"And Suri?"

"One of her mates."

Fox looked at her questioningly. "Mates? Plural?"

"Yes. Is that strange to you?" Krystal looked at Fox inquiringly as they dodged around a group of rowdy children.

Fox shrugged. "Generally where I'm from it's just one person at a time. Is it different here?"

"It can be. Emerald is...oh what do they call it in your language? Here people like her are called _reidkavic celo_, meaning bountiful love, but your language would call it... " Krystal thought for a moment. Remembering the word she snapped her fingers and said, "Polyamorous, that's it! She loves more than one person at a time. Cerinia has had group bonding for centuries actually. Though it is usually more common for just two people to be bonded there are a fair amount of triple, quadruple, even quintuple bonds. Is it different where you come from?"

Fox shrugged again. "It depends. I've never met anyone in a relationship with that sort of dynamic, at least not in the sense that anyone knew that there were more than two people in the relationship, but I've heard of it happening."

"I hope it doesn't bother you." Krystal said, realizing that many of her world's customs might seem alien and confusing to Fox. She hoped it wouldn't make him too uncomfortable.

Letting out a chuckle Fox said, "I've nearly died too many times to judge people for doing what their heart tells them to do. If everyone is happy then I don't see what difference it makes how many people are involved."

Krystal smiled at that. "You're very wise."

"Really? I think that's one of the few things I've never been called."

"There's a first time for everything. What do you think of our world so far Fox?" Krystal looked at him as she asked, curious to see his reaction since she couldn't use her telepathy on him.

Fox looked about, observing the town and street with the critical eye of a soldier doing his best not to be concerned about potential ambush points. "It's busy and..." He paused, seeming to search for a word for what he wanted to say that wouldn't offend her. "Old fashioned?"

"Hmmm. Old fashioned? Do look up if you please." Krystal pointed upwards as she said this. Watching him Krystal felt a sense of satisfaction as his jaw dropped.

"Wow. That is one big ship."

"It's one of our merchant vessels. Coming from Kew if it were my guess." Looking up she observed the group of six small fighters coming in along with the larger vessel.

They both paused in their walking to watch until the ship passed, then Fox asked, "How do you know they're coming from...Kew?"

"Kew is a rough system, hence the escort. Normally the Badge of House Zonoc, my House, is enough to keep raiders at bay. We have quite a few friends among the more powerful system defense forces. But Kew...well they are a bit troublesome."

"How so?" Fox inquired as they began their walk again.

"Well," Krystal explained. "For one thing Kew is a veritable pirate's nest, and the local forces there are sadly no guarantee of safety even for us, though the trade is profitable enough that it continues despite that. I've flown three escort missions in the Kew system, and I've been shot at every time."

Fox looked interested. "Ever shoot back?"

Krystal smirked a bit. "What kind of girl do you think I am? Of course, I have nine kills from those missions."

"Really?" Fox appeared impressed, his ears cupping forward and tail swaying just a bit. Krystal got the sudden intuition that girls who could fly combat missions were girls that interested Fox McCloud. "That alone puts you at almost double ace."

"Double ace?"

"A term we use back on my world for pilots who get ten kills. Five kills gets you ace, ten double ace, and so on."

Krystal nodded her comprehension, tail wagging at the fact that apparently she measured up favorably to pilots outside of Cerinia. "And what are you?"

Fox blushed a bit and scratched the back of his neck. "Um, well I sort of stopped counting after I hit a hundred."

Stopping in her tracks Krystal turned on Fox, eyes wide. "A hundred?"

"Well, yeah. But at this point probably more like a hundred and fifty."

He looked a bit uncomfortable, she guessed it hurt his humble attitude to do something that sounded like bragging. Or he may have just been worried about coming off as bragging in front of a female that she knew he found attractive. How maddening not to be able to read his thoughts and know for sure. "You must be a legend back home."

Shrugging and continuing to look a bit embarrassed, though he also seemed to be gaining a bit of confidence, he said, "More so than I would like. But there are a lot of pilots who have higher kill scores than I do. The highest is actually held by my dad, three hundred and twelve."

Continuing on Krystal said, "Your father must be an exceptional pilot."

"He was."

"Was?" Krystal cocked her head sideways.

"He died several years ago." Fox answered, his tone flat.

Sensing that this was not a happy topic for him Krystal simply replied, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..."

Fox shook his head. "Don't worry about it. I made peace with his death a long time ago."

"I see." Krystal didn't believe him for a moment. She may not have been mentally linked to him long enough to know too much about him, but she had shared his mind long enough to know the things that most often troubled it. Loss was one of them. She had not known it to be the loss of his father specifically, but Krystal had the feeling that Fox was not the type who knew how to truly let go of people in his life. _But who am I to make assumptions like that? I mourned the death of my pet shasta for nearly two years. And to lose one's father is much worse. _

The two of them lapsed into silence after that, Krystal not wanting to push Fox and Fox seeming suddenly preoccupied. As they entered the training fields Fox broke the silence however, "Where's your sister?"

Krystal looked around the fields and arched an eyebrow. Fiora was nowhere to be seen. All that appeared to be there were the training dummies, targets, sword posts, and the gurgling fountain. Opening her link to Fiora the blue vixen closed her eyes as she used it to locate her missing sister. A smile began to curve along her muzzle as she realized where Fiora was and why she had disappeared. "Would you mind waiting here for a moment? I know where she is, I'll just fetch her for you."

Fox nodded and went over to sit by the fountain. Krystal moved across the training fields and out into the thick foliage of the ferns on the far side. Picking her way through the long fronds her ears perked at the sound of giggling. Pushing aside one of the ferns she said, "You are incorrigible."

Both Fiora and Decius looked up at her from where they lay tangled in each other's limbs. They were still covered, thank the goddesses for that, but Krystal knew exactly what the two of them had been planning. "Uh, hi Krystal." Fiora said, tail wagging in the dirt. "Could you maybe give us...twenty minutes?"

Putting her hands on her hips Krystal looked at the two of them crossly. "Why should I? You knew very well that I would be bringing Fox to meet you right about now. Or have you not been paying attention to our mental link?"

"No, I haven't. Decius has been distracting me." Fiora replied.

"Sorry." Decius said, moving to unpin Fiora from her position pressed into the ground.

Sighing Krystal said, "All right all right. You can have twenty minutes, but please don't be loud, Fox seems the bashful type. And come out and meet him when you're done."

Fiora grinned. "Thanks sis. You're the best."

"Damn right I am." Krystal turned her back and let the ferns cover her sister and her lover once again before hurrying out to meet Fox. Catching her sister and Decius in the act hardly bothered her, the two of them could barely keep their hands off each other at the best of times. It irked her though that Fiora would be making Fox wait, even if it was for just twenty minutes. _Oh well, more time with Fox to myself. I wonder if...no, best not to ask him, though it would be fun to make Fiora wait on me to finish for once. _

Krystal felt herself blush a bit as images of her and Fox filled her mind. She quickly closed her link to Fiora, no doubt her sister's amorous activities were having an influence on her thinking. Though Fox really did look handsome, and she liked him.

Krystal sat down next to Fox on the edge of the fountain. Looking at her he asked, "Did you find her?"

"Yes." Krystal answered. "She'll be joining us in about twenty minutes."

"Oh? What's she doing? If you don't mind my asking." Fox looked at her curiously.

Krystal smirked a bit. "She's currently doing Decius. Her mate."

Fox's eyes widened and he blushed so hard Krystal briefly considered if it might be appropriate to have him dunk his head in the water to prevent his fur from catching on fire. "Uhhh."

"Something wrong?" Krystal cocked her head to the side, feigning confusion at what was making him blush.

"No, nothing it's just..."

"You disapprove." Krystal said with a glint in her eye.

"No. No, not at all...I mean if they're...and they want to...what I mean is..."

Krystal found herself fascinated by Fox's sudden inability to finish a sentence. She had never met someone this bashful about the concept of sex. She wondered if it might be a common attitude on his world, or if perhaps this was unique to him. Either way she found it amusing. "What is it Fox?"

Tipping his ears back Fox looked at his feet. "Nothing. I just get...I don't know...a little..."

"Embarrassed?" Krystal supplied.

"Yeah. Don't you?"

Krystal shook her head, letting her tail wander a bit closer to him. Deciding to be a tease she pretended to absentmindedly begin brushing it against his leg. "Not really. Certainly when I was a bit younger. But not so much now. I think it seems rather fun. But, if you like, we can talk about something else."

His eyes drifted over to where her tail continued to gently brush against his leg. Krystal could sense that his ambient emotions were changing from embarrassment to curiosity. Before he could decide whether or not she was truly teasing him however Krystal moved her tail.

He looked back out at the training field, though she could tell his mind still wanted to figure out if her tail had been doing that on purpose. "So, who owns these training fields? Defense force?"

Krystal shook her head, unbothered by the change of subject, even if she found that she enjoyed teasing him. "No. They're owned by the village and maintained by House Zonoc, my House. Cerinia, strictly speaking, doesn't really have an organized defense force. The various Houses are obligated to provide warriors, starfighters, and other war material when needed, though we haven't had a war in...two hundred years? Yes I think that's right."

That appeared to throw Fox for a loop. "What? You're people haven't been at war in two centuries?"

"You find that strange?"

"A little." Fox said. "Lylat just finished a massive war, and ever since it seems like we're constantly fighting some warlord trying to carve out an empire. Or hunting down some lost super weapon."

"Super weapon?" Krystal sensed that there was more to that statement than just a bland communication of fact.

"Yeah. Actually that's why I ended up here. I've been hunting a signal that my people think belongs to one of Andross's lost weapons."

Krystal felt a cold stab of fear in her stomach. "And it led you here? To Cerinia?"

"Not exactly." Fox said. "It led me to this system, but I didn't get a chance to figure out if it was actually on this planet or not. It might have been..." Fox stopped before he could finish his sentence, ears perking. "Do you hear that?"

Krystal's own ears were up and rotating, trying to find the source of the noise that Fox heard. "Yes. It sounds like...engines. From a ship. Distant though."

Both of them scanned the sky and the horizon. Then, suddenly, a ship appeared, hovering perhaps a mile or two outside of the village. The vessel, large and angular, bristled with what looked like weapons. Several smaller vessels dropped from its belly. Krystal's telepathy flooded her with an overwhelming sense of fear from throughout the village. She quickly put up walls around her mind, stemming the flow of emotions. "What is that?" She asked Fox, feeling her own anxiety levels increasing rapidly. She didn't like the look of that ship, or the smaller vessels which appeared to be moving towards the gem fields.

Fox growled and stood up, tail stiff, ears back, and lips curling to show his sharp vulpine teeth as he answered with a single word. "Venomians."

* * *

><p>AN: And y'all thought the story would be slowing down. And don't villains choose the worst moments to attack? Dastardly Venomians interrupting sexy time for the characters.

Sorry it's been so long between updates (at least I think it's been longer than normal), I have been working on something for NaNoWriMo, though at this point I've reached a point where I think I'm going to refocus on this story earlier than anticipated. Basically I chose the wrong story idea to try and write in a month. Oh well, live and learn.

On that note I'm hoping to possibly get another update out this month. I'm not one hundred percent happy with this chapter, but I decided instead of chasing perfection it would be best to upload it and move on to the next one. Never chase perfection, you'll never finish anything.

And on that lovely note I will bid you all a good day/night whatever rotational cycle your world has. Cheerio!

-general whitefur


	4. Chapter 4 Attack

A/N: There has been a minor retcon to this chapter since I posted, it's in regards to the Arwings and what type of craft they are. It's a minor change, just fair warning.

* * *

><p>Chapter 4<p>

Attack

Commander Adalius of the Venomian Army stood with his arms crossed over his chest on the bridge of the assault ship _Ra-tem_, watching through the viewports as they approached their target. Next to him doctor Sandra Carson looked dreadfully out of sorts aboard the vessel, she hadn't been informed before hand that he would be taking her with him on this mission. He still felt she should have been prepared, after all the mission was going forward at her request. "Tell me again why you need these...what did you call them?"

"Jfahak zonoc. Translates roughly as spirit jewels." The doctor said, brushing aside an unruly lock of her blonde hair. "And I need them in order to have a basis for the smaller containment vessels necessary if we are to weaponize my anti-matter power system."

"There is no other way?"

"None." Carson replied.

Adalius grunted. He didn't like having to execute a raid on Cerinia. They had operated securely on the Kathari moon for so many years for the precise reason that no one had known they were there. Certainly a few Kathari had known, but as their part in setting up the secret base inside of their own polar icecaps became redundant they had had the unfortunate fate of meeting with extremely lethal accidents. As far as Adalius was aware no one living on the Kathari moon knew of the Venomian presence, and certainly no one on Cerinia. Because of this the wolf did not enjoy the idea of revealing their presence, and especially in so spectacular a fashion. But they were close to perfecting the weapon, with these mineral samples Dr. Carson had promised weaponization within weeks, and Adalius was more than willing to suffer the risk of exposure in exchange for that. Besides, the Cerinians possessed no serious defense forces, and the Kathari guarded their territory jealously, he doubted there would be a response. And if there was, well he felt fully capable of dealing with it. The _Ra-tem_ was one of the Venomian fleet's best assault vessels, and the forces he commanded were battle ready at all times, he would tolerate nothing less.

"We're coming up on the target now sir."

Adalius glanced over at the crewman at ops, a gorilla. "Inform the dropships to be prepared to launch. Once they are ready you will drop the cloak and launch them on my order."

"Aye sir."

Adalius glanced at Dr. Carson. She was fiddling with something on her datapad. "What are you doing?"

Looking at him with arched eyebrows she replied, "Reviewing my schematics. Why?"

Adalius grunted. "Simply curious."

"Dropships report ready sir."

Walking over to the nearest console Adalius activated the intercom channel for the drop vessels. "Ground teams, as soon as you make dirt fall you are to grab up as many of those gem plants as possible. Do not engage the locals unless absolutely necessary. And work quickly, the Cerinians are telepathic, they will raise an alarm the moment they see you, and it will be heard. Good luck." Adalius killed the intercom and nodded to the tactical officer, a she-wolf. "Drop cloak."

"Aye."

Adalius turned back to the viewports. "We're taking a risk here doctor." He said. "I hope you know what you're doing."

"I always know what I am doing commander."

_Yes. _Thought Adalius. _I suppose you do._

* * *

><p>"Venomians." Fox said the word with contempt. The bastards just never could stay away could they?<p>

"Who?" He heard Krystal ask.

"Venomians. They're the people with the super weapon I've been tracking." Fox explained quickly. "Do you have starfighters? Because trust me, they aren't here to pick up spiced bundt cakes."

Krystal looked briefly puzzled by what a bundt cake was but nodded. "The main hangar will have fighters. The problem is it's too far to get there on foot. Too far to get there in time to do anything that is."

Fox growled. Just what he needed, a Venomian assault ship overhead and no Arwing or anything else capable of flying within range. "So what do we do? Just stand here?"

"No." Krystal closed her eyes for a moment and Fox got the feeling she was communicating with someone or something telepathically. A loud rustling noise started to emanate from within the nearby jungle. Fox looked over just in time to see a pack of what looked like large, four legged felines come stampeding out onto the training fields. The beasts were long and lanky, their fur spotted and striped, but for all that they looked strong enough to ride.

"Care to explain?" Fox asked.

"Shasta. I had one as a pet once. They're quite tame so they shouldn't throw you. Just hop on and follow me." Krystal said, already mounting one of the beasts.

Fox hesitated when he saw that none of the animals were wearing saddles. They didn't have all day however and, against what he thought might be his better judgement, Fox mounted the nearest creature. Less than a second later the entire pack burst off in the direction of the main hangar at a speed Fox had originally thought to be reserved for powered vehicles. Grabbing onto the thick neck ruff of his ride Fox did his best to hang on for dear life. Krystal on the other hand seemed to be having the time of her life as she whooped and hollered while she rode. Her voice was soon joined by two others as Fox looked to see Fiora and Decius, also mounted on shastas, riding along with them. He blushed a bit when he noticed that Fiora appeared topless. _Hell of a way to see a girl's sister for the first time. _He thought, blushing all the more when he remembered these people were telepathic, he hoped they hadn't picked up on that.

When they reached the hangar area, a large clearing with a single massive stone building, the shastas came to a skittering halt and the four vulpines dismounted before sprinting towards the building. When they entered Krystal pointed to four fighter craft. The craft looked similar to Arwings now that Fox looked at them. The wings were a bit longer and thinner, and they had four g-diffusers rather than the standard Arwing's two, the nose also appeared shorter and more pointed. They still looked very familiar however, as if he had seen them at some point. "What are these?"

Krystal smiled. "Arwings. Long range variant."

"Seriously? You fly an Arwing?"

"Yes. Why?"

Fox just grinned. "So do I. Surprised you didn't recognize the fighter I crashed in."

Opening the cockpit to her fighter Krystal shrugged. "Hard to tell what it was, what with it being in so many pieces. These are limited production variants though, not mass produced, I hope you learn fast."

"I never met an Arwing I couldn't fly." Fox said as he mounted his fighter. This variant was slightly different from the standard type that Fox flew, but overall it looked roughly analogous to his fighter control wise. And, of course, he had never met a ship that he couldn't fly. Powering on the vessel Fox donned the headset and went through his preflight checks in record time as all four vessels began taxiing out onto the runway.

Krystal's voice filled his cockpit. _"Alright listen up, we've got one big ship and three dropships over the gem fields. Fox, you know more about that ship than any of us, what should we do?"_

"That's a Venomian Assault ship. She's meant for ship-to-ship and heavy air support. She's got a mean point defense grid. My advice is we stay clear of the main vessel and head for the dropships."

"_Understood. Let's hit it."_

Fox grinned and rocketed his ship forward and up into the air. This fighter definitely had a different feel from his old Arwing, much lighter and, he had to grudgingly admit, a bit more responsive. It came at the expense of shielding though, this fighter wouldn't hold up as well in an attack against that assault ship as his old fighter would have, though it would do wonders in a dogfight.

"_Form up on my wing."_ Krystal said.

"Acknowledged." Fox took a position on Krystal's starboard wing. Fiora formed up on Krystal's port side, and Decius took a position in the rear, though just above Krystal to allow himself a clear field of fire. "Good thing you two are pilots." Fox mentioned.

He heard a male voice chuckle in response, Decius no doubt. _"Most warriors on Cerinia train as pilots. In fact I'd say I'm a bit more useful in the air than I am on the ground."_

"_I second that."_ Came a female voice that bore a marked similarity to Krystal's own.

"_Cut the chatter. We're coming up on their dropships. What are they doing?"_

Fox looked at the dropships, they were hovering over a glittering field of what looked strangely like gem sprouting plants. This world got stranger by the minute. "Looks like they have people on the ground ripping up the garden."

"_Pirates looking for a quick score?"_ Fiora asked. _"Jfahak zonoc catch a high price on the black market."_

"These are Venomians." Fox said. "I doubt it's that simple."

"_Moot point."_ Krystal said. _"Fighters inbound from the capital ship. Break and engage."_

"_What about the dropships?"_ Decius asked.

"_Ignore them. Those fighters are heading for the town, we can't afford to let them attack."_

"Roger that." Fox said. "Breaking to engage."

Fox kicked his fighter into a roll and headed straight for the enemy bandits. Locking his guns onto the lead enemy vessel he squeezed the triggers and opened fire. The Venomian fighter exploded in a satisfying display of pyrotechnics. "One down."

"_That was the easy kill." _Decius replied. _"They're breaking formation now."_

The Venomian fighters scattered their formation immediately, all of them moving off in different directions, though all of them remained on a heading towards the town. Krystal's fighter blew past him, guns blazing as she shot down not one but two of the hostile fighters. "Nice shooting." Fox complimented as one of the enemy fighters impacted on the ground, smoke trailing from the engines as it soft landed.

"_Double ace and one now."_

Fox smiled and set his sights on the next fighter. Opening fire he cursed as the pilot went evasive, so at least one of the enemy pilots was proving halfway competent. All the better. Matching the enemy ship maneuver for maneuver Fox managed a target lock, holding down the triggers he sent a stream of blue plasma at the Venomian fighter. The plasma hit the engine core of the enemy vessel causing it to explode and sending tiny chunks of debris peppering against Fox's hull. His victory didn't last long however, another enemy fighter appeared on his screens, this one heading right for Fiora's Arwing. Kicking his ship into a roll he moved to intercept. He could feel the adrenaline rush hitting his system full force, this was what he had been born to do, and Fox reveled in the feeling of home he felt as he engaged his third enemy craft. Nothing beat flying, and nothing beat a combat mission. "Say your prayers Venomians, because I'm coming for you."

* * *

><p>Adalius frowned as he saw the dogfight ensuing. Three of his fighters down and not a single enemy kill. Another set of explosions blossomed in the skies above Cerinia's primary island, now that was seven. More than half a squadron. "Are the dropships on their way back yet?"<p>

"The platoon leader reports they have the package Dr. Carson requested." The ops officer informed him.

"Good, we have what we came for, and I'm not interested in prolonging our presence here. Order them back now. Fire a full spread of point defense lasers, give our fighters cover. As soon as all ships are aboard recloak and head for home."  
>"Aye sir."<p>

Adalius returned his gaze to the dogfight. One of the enemy pilots in particular interested him. They were all clearly skilled, that much was certain, but this one, this one was extraordinary. Suffice it to say Adalius felt slightly less confident about the results of this raid than he had only moments ago.

* * *

><p>"They're pulling back." Krystal noted. The seven remaining enemy fighters were breaking for the mothership.<p>

"_Do we pursue?"_ Fiora asked.

"_I wouldn't recommend it at this point."_ Fox advised. _"The last thing we want is for that assault ship to bring her point-defense grid to bare on us. It'll tear through us like a hot knife through butter."_

"Then we stay back. Let the enemy fighters go and..." Krystal's sixth sense sent a tingle down her spine. "Evasive action! Now!"

No sooner had she said it then a volley of red laser fire tore through the spaces the four fighter had just occupied. As she brought her ship around to face the enemy vessel her eyes widened in wonder as the enemy ship shimmered, wavered, and then disappeared. "What the..."

"_Cloaking device."_ Fox informed her. _"It must be how they got here undetected."_

"Can they attack while cloaked?"

"_Negative. Not unless they've made a major breakthrough in the technology, which I would be aware of if they had."_ Fox answered.

"All right. Then we're back to base. Good work everyone."

Fox climbed out of his fighter and hopped down to the hangar floor. Walking over to Krystal he said, "Nice flying out there."

"Thank you." She replied. "I just wish we could have gone after that mothership."

"I'm sure we'll get the chance. Heck, the way you fly I don't think we need to worry as much about those point-defense lasers as I thought." Fox gave her a his best confident smile, something that when it came to piloting actually managed to look confident rather than bashful.

"Hey, what were we out there? Chopped noodles?"

Krystal giggled and said, "Fox McCloud, may I introduce my sister Fiora, and her ever present mate Decius."

Fox turned around and said, "Hardly. You two definitely have talent."

Fiora arched an eyebrow skeptically. "Uh huh. You sure you aren't just trying to hit on my little sis?"

Fox's ears turned bright red and he stammered a bit. "Uhh...well no, I mean I would never..."

"You would never what Fox?" Krystal said. Fox saw that she was giving him a curious look.

"Well I would never just say something like that to flirt, you know?" Fox felt as if he were definitely losing control over this conversation.

"Oh leave him alone you two." Decius broke in. "Don't worry Fox, they've teased me like that for years."

Relieved that at least one person appeared to be on his side Fox turned his gaze to Decius. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. They get it from their mother."

"Are you saying something against our mother?" Krystal asked Decius. "Because my mother's reputation is beyond reproach."

Decius rolled his eyes. "Never said it wasn't. But I think we have more important things to do right now then stand around trading stories."

Krystal nodded. "True. We better head back to my house and speak to mother and father. Come on."

Fox followed Krystal and her sister out. Walking alongside him Fox said to Decius, "Thanks for coming to the rescue back there."

Decius smirked. "No problem. Krystal and her sister are a little..." The other male trailed off.

"What?" Fox asked.

"Let's just say they enjoy being teases. It means they like you. Especially Krystal, she only teases people she likes."

Fox's ears perked up at that and his tail stood a little higher. "You think she..."

"Oh yeah. Big time. But far be it from me to get involved, I have more than I can handle with her sister. You're on your own with her my friend."

As they exited the hangar Fox saw that the shastas had apparently spent the aerial battle lounging on the warm asphalt of the tarmac preening each other's fur. At the approach of the group of vulpines they looked up, tails beginning to lash with excitement.

"Mount up." Krystal called out. "We need to move fast, mother and father will probably be worried."

The shasta Fox had previously ridden got up and moved towards the tod, a rumbling purr coming from its throat as it rubbed its head against his chest. The creature stood almost as tall as Fox. "Hi there."

"She likes you Fox." Krystal said as she walked by on her mount. "That's good."

"Yeah, seems so." Fox answered, getting onto the beast's back with less hesitation than previously. "Will we be going quite as...woah!" In answer to his question the shasta took off with the rest of its pack at roughly the same breakneck speed as before, prompting Fox to wonder if the animals were capable of any other speeds. _Probably best to just hang on and enjoy the ride. _Fox thought to himself, though he would have to see about a saddle and stirrups before his legs fell off from riding this way.

* * *

><p>Sapphire buckled her brass bra and looked at her husband. The two of them had been in the middle of a rather leisurely afternoon delight when a telepathic cry of warning had burst through the town. Were it not for the seriousness of the situation Sapphire would have been angry that she and her husband were being interrupted, but as it stood she would reserve her anger for those who had perpetrated the attack. Though the fireworks had been both wondrous and terrifying as she and her husband had watched from the house's balcony. Now that the attack appeared to be over they had returned to dress before heading out into the town. "Krystal and Fiora are on their way back, along with Decius and our guest."<p>

Jade nodded as he headed for the door. "I'm going to go make sure the town is undamaged and meet them as they return. I need you to go to the temple and call for a meeting of the House Heads and High Priestesses, tell them what happened and tell them I want to meet them here to discuss what we're going to do. Use the shard, we can't trust any other method right now."  
>"All right." Sapphire said, though she hesitated briefly at the mention of the shard.<p>

Jade must have sensed her hesitation. "Don't worry, I've never known you to succumb to that sort of temptation before, you won't now."

Sapphire smiled at her husband before following him to the door. Pausing as they made their way out into the hall Sapphire shoved her husband against the wall and kissed him with more love, lust, and passion than she usually did. When she pulled away she explained, "In case I never see you again."

Jade, looking confused but very pleased thought to mention, "The attack is over."

Sapphire wagged her tail and wiped a bit of her blue lip paint from his mouth. "In that case its for believing in me like you always have. Now, we'd best both be off."

"Agreed."

The two of them made their way downstairs to the ground floor, Jade pausing to retrieve his own and Krystal's staff weapons, before walking through the courtyard and out into the town. From there they diverged, Jade heading towards the town center and the main hangar while Sapphire went towards the temple.

The temple, only a single street from their home, was the most impressive and imposing structure in Tenked. It predated Tenked by what Cerinian historians reckoned was tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of years. The building, made of stone blocks that to this day remained too thick and heavy to move, was several stories tall and adorned with stain glass windows of more recent construction, as well as statues of the goddesses that were as ancient as the structure itself. Sapphire always felt the goddesses appeared a bit strange, what with their flat faces and apparently furless bodies, though they possessed a beauty which shone through despite their alien appearance. Sapphire didn't generally question her belief in the goddesses, and besides, were not all things divine beyond the understanding of mortals? In that way the form in which the goddesses appeared seemed rather appropriate, alien and yet familiar, they shared the proportions of bipedal life at the very least.

Walking through the heavy wooden doors of the temple, they were kept open at all times of the day and night, Sapphire brushed passed a group of novice priestesses without stopping before ascending the long, spiraling flight of steps to the top level.

At the very top of the temple stood one of the shards of what her people called the Heart of Cerinia. Glassy and crystalline in its appearance, and shining with an inner light similar to the spirit jewels, the shard was one of seven such crystals, each in the care of a different House and kept enshrined within each of the seven temples of Cerinia. According to her people's beliefs, and according to what Sapphire had read, supported by a rather large body of scientific evidence, the Heart of Cerinia was responsible for her people's telepathic powers. The greatest evidence of this revealed itself as, after uttering several ritual incantations, Sapphire placed both hands on the shard.

Only a High Priestess such as herself was allowed to touch one of the shards, and when she did her telepathic abilities allowed her to touch the mind of anyone she so wished, wherever they might be. The shards could allow for telepathic communication between two individuals on opposite ends of Cerinia, or even, though it had never before been tested, on opposite ends of the galaxy. Thus far no one had ever communicated with anyone across a distance more vast than that of Cerinia, though legends spoke of the goddesses using the Heart to communicate with members of their divine race residing well beyond this world.

_Hear me noble Heads and honored High Priestesses of the Seven Houses and temples of Cerinia. House Zonoc has been attacked, and the threat extends to all Cerinians, of this we have no doubt. The great Jade Zonoc, head of House Zonoc, calls for a meeting between the Seven Heads and the Seven High Priestesses to be held here, in Tenked. Come with all due haste, for this danger must soon be met! And may the goddesses protect you on your journey._

Taking her hands from the shard Sapphire smiled, she enjoyed having her powers amplified like that, it felt..._addicting is the word. Which is why we use it so rarely. _

Stepping away from the shard Sapphire made her way back down towards the main hall of the temple, determined not to remain anywhere near the telepathy amplifying crystal any longer than was necessary. As any good High Priestess knew the shards were something to be in the presence of as little as possible, rituals and emergencies only, and Sapphire knew better than to break that time honored custom. Instead she thought it best to see to the temple, and to assure her novices and priestesses that there was no longer anything to fear, a shame that she got the feeling Krystal wouldn't be available for dance instruction, a hot, sweaty, sensual dance, that was just what these girls needed to keep their minds off of alien invaders. Oh well, fortunately Sapphire specialized in just such dances, she could make do without Krystal for one afternoon, that much was certain.

* * *

><p>AN: I was going to upload this tomorrow, but then I figured why not just upload it tonight eh?

I apologize in advance if the dogfight seemed a bit abbreviated, I'm still getting used to writing action scenes so you'll have to bear with me as I navigate the process of figuring them out. This story is definitely a bit outside of the norm for what I'm writing, what with being a fast paced action plot. I admit, I'm a bit out of my element with this story.

Other than that the eagle eyed among you may have noticed that the Arwings used in this chapter are the ones used in Star Fox Assault. Just another way for me to connect this story with canon, as well as give a reason as to why Krystal turns out to be a perfect candidate for Star Fox. Also, if you've read some of my other stories the Heart of Cerinia likely appeared familiar, I'm happy to give it an appearance and show its place in Cerinian society.

In other news I'm planning to take a brief break between this update and the next one to work on a new one-shot, this one following a family theme with James, Vixy, and little six year old Fox McCloud. It may also feature appearances from other characters, but we shall see. Keep an eye out for it though, I always like to hear what people have to say, and this one should be a nice dose of cuteness. Until then though, cheerio!

-general whitefur


	5. Chapter 5 Aftermath

Chapter 5

Aftermath

Krystal's shasta came to a stop in a cloud of dust in the middle of the town square. Three more clouds of dust filled the air as her companions also stopped. Looking around she spotted her father running up to her. As soon as he was within earshot she waved and called out, "We're all right father!"

Coming to a stop in front of them Jade nodded with satisfaction, tail flicking. "I can see that. Nice flying out there." He turned to look at Fox. "I assume you must be the one my two daughters brought home with them."

Fiora put a hand to her muzzle as she snickered. "Phrasing."

"Yes sir. I'm Fox McCloud, lead pilot of the Star Fox team." Fox explained, eyes on Jade.

Krystal's ears perked up at that name. So Fox had some sort of team that he was a part of? She wondered where the rest of them might be.

"Star Fox eh? I've heard of you." Jade's eyebrows both arched. "We are fortunate to have a member of Star Fox with us, all things considered. I'm afraid..." He trailed off at the end, his gaze moving towards a column of smoke rising in the distance outside of the town. He refocused his gaze a moment later on Krystal. "Emerald and Suri are at the crash sight of one of the fighters you shot down. They say it soft landed and we might be able to use the fighter's flight computer to find out where it came from."

Krystal's eyes brightened at that. They would have something to go on when they went out in search of the attackers. "Does she need us?"

"Not all of you." Jade looked passed her at Krystal's sister. "Fiora, go to the temple and see to the security there. Meet with your mother and tell her I'm going to want to post some of our warriors there to protect it. And ask her to consider closing the doors."

Fiora's eyes widened and her jaw dropped for a moment. "Close the doors to the temple? Father you know she won't..."

"I said ask her, not tell her. She will make the decision as High Priestess. Now _go_." Jade just managed to restrain his frustration. Just.

Krystal could tell her father felt a bit out of sorts. Things like this didn't happen on Cerinia. The last time her world had been attacked was two hundred years ago, and that had been by the Kathari. The war, though brutal, was a distant memory for her people, she could understand why her father's emotions, though tightly controlled, radiated an overtone of confusion more than anything else.

"Yes father." Fiora said, nudging her shasta off in the direction of the temple.

_Good luck._ Krystal said to her sister through their link. She did not envy Fiora the task of seeing to the security of the temple. Her mother, though kind hearted, could also be stubborn and territorial. She would not be pleased at the idea of having warriors in her temple, no matter the situation. Krystal could hear her mother's protests already; she would complain that the added security interfered with the dances, the offerings, the mediation, the music practice, in short her mother would feel that the very presence of security would interfere with everything about the temple simply for being there. In reality the impact would likely be minimal, but that was her mother, she guarded her temple almost as jealously as the Kathari guarded their moon, and Krystal didn't blame her, it was, after all, her temple. And the idea of closing the temple doors...Krystal repressed a shudder as she imagined the fury those words would unleash when her mother heard them. The doors were meant to be open so that people would be able to come in and meditate and seek the counsel of her priestesses whenever they needed it, to close the doors would be to close out the people when they would need the temple most. Fiora did not have an easy job ahead of her.

Jade turned to Decius. "Decius, go and summon the various family heads, I'll want to meet with them in the courtyard of my home, we have a great deal to discuss."

"Yes sir." Decius and his shasta began moving down the streets away from the town center.

"What do you want me and Fox to do father?" Krystal asked, eager to get her assignment and be off.

"Go meet with Emerald and Suri at the crash site, see what you can retrieve from that fighter. Look for anything that might tell us where these attackers came from. Understood? Oh and take this with you." He said, handing her her staff.

"Yes father." Krystal wagged her tail a bit, happy to have her staff back and Fox joining her on the mission. "Let's go Fox."

"Right."

Krystal tried not to laugh as she sensed Fox's continuing confusion about how his shasta always seemed to know right where to go. She would have to tell him that she was using her telepathy to guide it. She decided to keep that for later though, right now they had more important things to do.

* * *

><p>Fox clung to the neck ruff of his shasta, amazed at the creature's speed and agility. Having left the town he and Krystal, along with their mounts, were navigating the thick green jungle. The shasta, seeming to understand just where they needed to go, whipped through low hanging vines and plants, hopped over small streams, and barreled through clumps of ferns, all without slowing from its breakneck speed. When some larger obstruction such as a downed tree cut across their path the shasta simply extended its claws and scrambled up and over it.<p>

Along the way, and when the shasta slowed momentarily to navigate an area a bit trickier than normal, Fox spotted a number of other animals scurrying away. Few of them remained in view long enough for him to get a good look, but he did spot a number of number of reptiles and rodents, and judging by the way the shasta's ears would often swivel in the direction of those smaller species he assumed they were likely prey. Flyers made up the majority of the non-sentient animal life that Fox managed to spot, with their rapid passage stirring up large flocks of brightly colored avians that flew away squawking at them angrily.

The scent of burning vegetation filled the air as they arrived at the crash site. Hopping off his mount Fox surveyed the area. The crash had left a wake of destruction throughout the jungle, small fires burned where the upturned dirt had been unable to reach and put them out. The smell of burnt metal and seared foliage filled the air.

Fox spotted Emerald with her green pelt and another vixen, this one with dark blue, almost purple fur, attempting to open the cockpit. "Any luck?" He asked as he walked over.

The purple vixen, Suri, shook her head. "It's jammed tight."

Mounting the fighter Krystal extended her staff, Fox's eyes widened as he saw the weapon quadruple in size, before placing the sharpened end on the glass of the canopy. A few seconds later cracks began to spiderweb across the glass and the cockpit canopy shattered. Casting a glance over at him Krystal said, "Cockpit's open."  
>"I don't think I'll ever get used to this world." Fox breathed, shaking his head. Stepping up to the cockpit Fox looked down at the reptilian pilot. A nasty looking piece of metal was lodged in the man's shoulder, though there didn't appear to be too much blood. "He's wounded. Help me get him out of here." Emerald stepped forward and together they lifted him up and out of the cockpit, depositing him on the ground as gently as possible. "Someone watch him and make sure he doesn't make a run for it. We might need him."<p>

Suri walked over and stood watch over the pilot. Kneeling down next to him she took a look at his injury. "It doesn't look too bad."

"Good." Fox replied, his face serious as he situated himself inside the now vacant cockpit. The screen in front of him flickered and stabilized. Pressing several buttons Fox attempted to access the fighter's flight recorder. Assuming it was still working it would be able to tell them exactly where it had been before arriving at Cerinia. "Of course."

"What?" Emerald asked, leaning into the cockpit to look over Fox's shoulder. "It's all gibberish."

"Is it?" Krystal leaned over to examine the screen for herself. "What do you think Fox?"

Fox's ears reddened as he felt both girls quite literally breathing down his neck. Krystal's breath he found particularly distracting, the way she seemed to direct it right at that spot he always scratched when he got nervous, the spot he was actively resisting the urge to scratch right now. "Well the computer is shot. Completely. I think one of the plasma bolts fried it." He breathed a mental sigh of relief when both girls pulled away. He wondered if Krystal had been breathing on him that way on purpose, or if maybe he had imagined it. _Later McCloud, more important things to do right now._

"What do we do now?" Asked Emerald.

"Not much we can do." Said Fox. "Without the flight recorder this piece of junk isn't going to be able to tell us much." His gaze settled on the reptilian pilot. "He might be able to though."

"Fox, wait." Krystal said, holding up a hand to stop him. "He's barely conscious. He can't tell you anything."

"Maybe he could tell you." Fox answered. "Your telepathy."

A collective silence fell on the crash site at his suggestion. Looking around he noticed that all three women were looking distinctly uncomfortable. Suri spoke for all three of them when she broke the silence. "No. He can't consent to a mind probe, so we can't give him one."

Fox's eyebrows both arched. "This guy just attacked your planet. His squadron was going to strafe your town and kill civilians in the process. Why do you care what he can or can't consent to?"

"It's our way." Emerald replied, her expression adamant.

Suri mirrored her mate's look when Fox turned his gaze on her. "I'm sorry Fox, it just can't be done."

Finally his eyes settled on Krystal. He expected to hear the same thing, but instead she looked away, unwilling to answer.

Throwing up his arms in frustration Fox grunted. "Fine. Let's just get him back to the town. Who knows, maybe he'll be crazy enough to actually want to help us. Mark my words though, we don't have a lot of time."

* * *

><p>Sapphire stormed into the courtyard of her home. Spotting her husband she locked gazes with him and then pointed towards a far corner away from the group of family heads that were assembling. She saw his shoulders droop, as well they should, she knew he could sense her anger, everyone in the whole town likely could.<p>

When they were safely out of earshot Jade said, "You didn't yell at Fiora did you?"

"No." Sapphire replied icily. "Why should she be the one I yell at? You were the one who was too cowardly to face me in person."

Jade's lip curled at that and he growled. "Cowardly? Sapphire, we were just attacked by Ukxodu knows who and I have other responsibilities because of that, sending Fiora was not a matter of me being afraid to face you."

Crossing her arms Sapphire growled right back. "So you say. But I'll tell you right now that I will not consider for even a second closing the temple doors. Send your warriors if you must, but the doors stay open."

"I figured you would say that." Jade sighed, pinching the bridge of his muzzle. "I hope you know what you're doing."

"Do you?" Sapphire retorted.

Jade's tail and ears drooped and Sapphire immediately regretted saying it. She could sense just how confused and out of sorts her husband felt. As the head of the dominant House for this region, and all of Cerinia, the responsibility for defending their people rested on his shoulders. He would be expected to lead them in battle, organize everything, he would be expected to become a war chief. Expected to take up a position that hadn't been held by anyone for two centuries. Assuming the council voted to go to war. "I'm sorry." She said, her demeanor softening. "I shouldn't have said that."

Jade shook his head. "It's all right. I don't know what I'm doing Sapphire. And when the other House Heads get here I'll have to hope that one of them knows what to do, because I really don't. Goddesses know that Arethusa will likely use this as an opportunity to embarrass me."

Sapphire felt another low growl in her throat at the mention of Arethusa. Head of House Sujkco Arethusa constantly jockeyed for power and influence, two things which she possessed in abundance. After House Zonoc House Sujkco possessed the greatest hold over Cerinian politics, though the lead that the Zonocs held could be somewhat precarious. Arethusa would look for any opportunity to improve her standing at the expense of Sapphire's husband, that and she and Sapphire both nursed a rather strong dislike for each other, in fact it bordered on abject hatred. "She wouldn't dare. This threatens all the Houses, all Cerinians."

Jade quirked an eyebrow. "Exactly why she will use it. If we are seen as having brought down a calamity such as this on our people Arethusa will not be hard pressed to rally support against us. All it takes is one clan head changing his or her mind about us to tip the scales. Now, I need to consult with the other family heads for the town, and we should likely summon those from the surrounding villages. Will you be all right on your own for the time being?"

"Of course dear." Sapphire replied, stepping a bit closer and giving him a supportive nuzzle. "I handled myself quite well before we married, I'm sure I can manage."

Jade smiled and kissed her on the cheek. "Yes, you certainly did. Don't worry, I'll figure a way to get through this. I always do."

Giving him a kiss herself Sapphire wagged her tail. "I know. And if Arethusa tries anything I'll rip the hair right off her skull."

Jade chuckled as they made their way across the courtyard. "I'm sure you will. And I'll see you tonight for the evening meal."

"Of course." Sapphire answered before making her way out of the courtyard and back towards the temple. She fully intended to work up a sweat and dance the tension of the day away.

* * *

><p>The stars and Cerinia's twin moons were bathing the town of Tenked in a pale light by the time Krystal found herself with a moment to rest. She had spent the day helping to make all the preparations that might be needed for a defense of Tenked in the event of another attack. The defenses were...insufficient in her mind. Pilots from the surrounding villages were arriving to help defend the skies, but few of them possessed extensive experience in air combat. Warriors now patrolled the streets and the jungles around the town, and the House Heads and High Priestesses from the rest of Cerinia would be arriving within the next couple of days, but even so Krystal couldn't shake the feeling that they did not have the means with which to defend themselves successfully if it did end up coming to war. Thus far the pilot they had captured remained uncooperative, not that anyone had pressed him too hard yet, he tended to slip in and out of consciousness, afflicted by the same minor brain injuries that Fox had been when he first arrived. The doctor said it would probably be awhile longer before they could rely on anything he said. And the flight recorder from the fighter craft appeared to be a dead end. A team had gone back to retrieve it but, as Fox had noted, it seemed damaged beyond repair. Krystal suspected that the pilot might well end up being their only possible source of information. Hopefully he would be cooperative once he felt better.<p>

Leaning on the railing of one of the house's balconies Krystal gazed out at the horizon. Her hair fluttered in the cool breeze, a welcome relief after the warmth of the day, it would certainly make sleeping more comfortable. Her telepathy informed her of an approaching presence and she looked over her shoulder to see Fox join her in the evening air. Once he stood next to her she smiled at him."Hi."

"Hi."

"What do you think?"

"Of the stars?"

"Yes."

Fox looked upwards for a moment, seeming lost in the view. Krystal knew she never tired of it, the band of the galaxy just visible between the two moons. One day she hoped to discover what some of those other stars looked like from the worlds that orbited them. "They're beautiful." He answered, looking back at her.

Krystal wagged her tail slowly, happy that he found it to be so. She sensed something on his mind then, a question. "What is it?"

Fox looked at her, tail swishing. "I thought you weren't reading my mind anymore."

Momentarily flustered Krystal tipped her ears back. "I wasn't. I mean not that way. I can just...I have a passive empathy, something I get from my mother. I can't help sensing emotions, surface feelings. I'm afraid I really can't turn it off."

"Oh. I see." His own ears tipped back and the slightest bit of color came to his ears, not much, but just enough that she could see it even in the soft light of the moon and the stars.

She knew why. For a moment she felt tempted to tell him she knew of his attraction towards her and that she shared it. She stifled the urge immediately though, it was far too soon, that could come later. She broke the silence before it became awkward. "Did you have a question?"

"Yeah." Fox said, regaining his composure. "How did you break the cockpit glass earlier today? I mean you touched it with your staff and the whole thing just boom! Shattered."

Krystal smiled a bit, tail wagging. "It's simple really. The staff can produce seismic waves, I simply pressed it to the glass and shook it apart."

"Wow." Fox seemed impressed. "Do you think you could teach me to do that?"

Krystal thought about that for a moment. She hadn't considered teaching Fox how to use a staff. It might be possible. "Why do you want to learn?"

"Besides how awesome being able to cause mini-groundquakes is?"

Laughing softly she said, "It is awesome." She realized something then. She snapped her fingers and said, "You don't have a weapon do you?"

"No." Fox shook his head, looking as if he had been caught naked at the thought that he no longer possessed a weapon.

"Well then." Krystal said, shaking her head. "We shall have to get that sorted. If you come with me to the training fields tomorrow we can see about fixing that."

"Thanks."

Fox's tail wagged and she could sense his excitement. He might take to a staff now that she thought about it. From her impressions of his mind so far, and the fact that she had been able to establish a link with him earlier to monitor him indicated his mind was at the very least receptive to telepathy. If she could just initiate the link between him and the weapon...yes, yes that would work now that she thought about it. Brilliant.

Just as she was about to share the information with him her empathic sense detected something. An emotional pattern in his mind that seemed to linger just beneath the surface. Curious she asked, "Fox? Are you alright?"

Leaning over the railing with her Fox gazed into the distance. "I'm just...worried."

"About what?" She had a feeling she could guess the answer even as she asked the question.

"That things are going to go the way they did in Lylat."

Cocking her head as she looked at him she asked, "What do you mean?"

Fox sighed, looking lost in thought before explaining, "Back when Andross first started building up his military a lot of people got talking about what needed to be done. Some people thought that Corneria should be the one to attack first, but most people didn't want to go to war, they wanted to avoid it at all costs. So we didn't strike first."

"Then what happened?"

A shadow fell over his face as he looked back up at the night sky, his gaze seeming to be drawn towards one particular part of it. "A lot of people died."

Silence fell over them then as Krystal digested his words. A thought occurred to her then, would her people be willing to strike out at these attackers? After two hundred years of peace would any of them be truly willing to shatter that record? Her people may have possessed warrior traditions, but as she thought about it she realized that the tradition was about all they really had. She didn't even consider herself a warrior first, she thought of herself first and foremost as a dancer, and likely to be a priestess or High Priestess at some point in her life if she continued down the peaceful path laid out for her. "Fox?"

"Yeah?" He turned his gaze back to her.

"Do you think we have a chance?"

He remained silent for a few moments, mulling over his answer. Finally he said, "I don't know. Maybe, maybe not. It all depends on more factors than either of us can really account for. Most of them are things we don't know right now. I do know one thing though, the longer we wait the slimmer our odds."

"We have to wait for the council to decide though." Krystal reminded him.

"Yeah, well, we said just about the same thing on Corneria."

"You think that my people will decide not to fight?"

Fox shrugged and leaned on the railing. "You tell me."

Sighing Krystal looked back out at the view of Tenked from the balcony. She could see a pair of warriors holding paper lanterns as they patrolled the streets. They meandered down the cobblestone walkway, and when she looked closely she saw that the two were holding hands. No, her people were not ready for this. "We aren't soldiers. We haven't had a war in two hundred years. And it feels wrong to start one."

"Are you sure it hasn't already started?"

She glanced at him before saying softly, "No."

* * *

><p>AN: Does history threaten to repeat itself? We shall see.

A quick note on one of the terms used in this chapter, "flyer" refers to non-sentient birds. As Falco is a bird and sentient and is referred to as a bird I have elected to give his non-sentient counterparts a different name, hence "flyer." Just in case there was any confusion.

Also a quick shout out to Nail Strafer who has generously decided to be my beta reader for this story! His help with this chapter was invaluable. Thanks Nail!

I would also like to thank everyone who has been reading this story, it looks to be on track to be my most popular story yet! It got over a thousand views last month, which is a first for one of my stories. And of course a thank you to all of you who continue to leave reviews, I'm so flattered by the positive reaction to this story.

I'm thinking of trying to do a Christmas one-shot this year, as I did last year, but at the moment I'm not sure what form it would take, I really should have started thinking about it in November. Oh well, we'll see.

Other than that not much else need be said, I'll do my best to have another update for this story out this month, though it may be delayed if I actually come up with an idea for a Christmas story. Until next time...Cheers! Oh and Happy Holidays/Christmas/Saturnalia!

-general whitefur


	6. Chapter 6 Armed

Chapter 6

Armed

Fox stood on the balcony of the Zonoc house in Tenked enjoying the view of the town. He had woken up a bit later than usual for him, in fact according to the clock placed in his room it was very near the afternoon. Being on a new planet always tended to play havoc with his sleep cycle, it could have been far worse. In the distance he could see a starship climbing up into the blue sky, followed closely by several escorts. Down below warriors continued to patrol the streets and the surrounding jungles. Even without the Cerinian's telepathy Fox could pick up on the latent anxiety spreading throughout the place. Yesterday's attack had shaken up just about everyone, and the news that a Council would be assembled here over the next few days only seemed to be making everyones fur stand on end. Such events were apparently rare, and the prospect that the Council might vote to send Cerinia to war did little to make the days pass with ease.

To Fox much of this felt familiar. The months before the beginning of the Lylat War, the time when war seemed increasingly likely but there remained the hope that it could be avoided had been the worst. When war had finally broken out a few months after the death of Fox's father it had almost been a relief. The Lylat War, though short had been one of the most brutal in Lylatian history. Andross had possessed not an ounce of sympathy for those who surrendered or populations who simply found themselves caught in the middle. By the time Fox had led his team into battle entire cities had been bombed into dust, and more than a quarter of Corneria City, the jewel of Lylat, had been levelled. Fox knew now that everyone on this planet wondered if the same would happen to them. He hoped it didn't, and he would be willing to do whatever it took to make sure that the outcome of whatever happened didn't result in the destruction of these people. But, he wouldn't be able to do it alone.

For a moment Fox entertained thoughts of just who might be willing to join him. His conversation from the night before with Krystal made him wonder what the blue vixen might be willing to do if push came to shove. Fox, though young, had been around long enough and been through enough to see things in people. The seeds of determination, the kind of determination to do whatever it took to protect the people you loved. He saw that in Krystal. And as he thought about it he realized how much he already admired her. He had known her for, what? A day? And yet something about her appealed to him, something deeper than just the luscious curves of her body. Though of course those no doubt had something to do with it. _Makes you wonder doesn't it?_ He thought to himself.

"Fox?"

Shaken from his reverie Fox turned around and saw Fiora, Krystal's sister, standing at the entrance to the balcony. "Hi."

"Hi." A smile graced her muzzle, a muzzle just a bit longer than Krystal's. "Busy?"

Fox looked around and then answered, "Not really. Where's Krystal? We were supposed to go to the training fields today. Something about getting me a weapon."

Fiora nodded her comprehension. "Actually she wanted me to fetch you for her. She's at the temple right now with mother. I'm supposed to take you there to meet her."

"Oh." Fox said. "All right. Lead the way."

The two of them left the balcony and made their way down through the house. As they walked Fiora glanced at him. "Sorry for not greeting you more formally yesterday. My mate and I were in the middle of...carnal relations."

Fox managed not to blush as he remembered Krystal informing him of that yesterday. He felt a bit silly though, such things were nothing new to him after all. Looking at her he saw that her own expression remained carefully neutral. "Uh, that's fine. Wouldn't want to interrupt."

Fiora's lips quirked and a smile broke her formerly neutral expression as they walked out onto the streets. "Nice of you. What about you? Do you have a mate where you come from?"

"Not at the moment." Fox answered. The question of his relationship status led to thoughts first of Fara, and then Miyu. The two of them were the closest he'd ever come to having an actual mate. Things hadn't panned out romantically with either of them in the end though. He and Fara had broken up in high school, and Miyu, well the both of them had known their relationship was more a fling of desire instead of anything serious. Fara ended up marrying Boniface Whitefur, one of Fox's good friends about a year after the Lylat Wars, and Miyu tended more towards the female spectrum of things these days.

"Do you intend to find a mate?" Fiora continued her line of questioning.

"Some day." Fox replied. "Why do you ask?"

Fiora shrugged, glancing at a group of passers by. "No reason really. I'm just curious." Her gaze returned to Fox. "Though my sister is available if you're interested."

Fox's eyes widened and this time he did blush. It didn't matter how many times these people assured him they didn't sit around reading his mind, it always seemed like they knew more than they let on. Of course Fox had never been very good at subtlety, maybe they were just perceptive enough to see through him. "That's...good to know."

Fiora pointed with a finger towards a massive stone structure. "There's the temple."

Fox took in the sight of the temple in awe. It stood several stories tall, taller than any of the buildings in Tenked. Though he had caught sight of it that morning from the balcony he hadn't focused much on it, having been caught up in thoughts about the future. Now that he had a closer view he could appreciate just how massive and awe inspiring it appeared. The stone blocks it was constructed of blended together almost seamlessly. And the statues adorning it filled him with a sense of wonder. They reminded him vaguely of primates, but they still remained decidedly alien in appearance.

As they entered through the massive wooden doors Fox looked up and saw a spiraling set of stairs. The stairs twisted all the way to the top of the structure before ending at a stone platform suspended above the room. "Wow."

"It is impressive isn't it?"

Fox looked back to Fiora and nodded. "Where's Krystal though?"

"Over there." Fiora pointed once again, this time to a part of the temple further towards the back beneath one of the sets of windows.

Fox's ears perked up at the sound of drums beating a fast, steady beat. Walking closer with Fiora he caught sight of Krystal as she danced to the sound of the music. Her bottom half swayed back and forth in a manner Fox found enticing in the extreme. Her tail, arched, gave an unobstructed view of her rear as it moved in a way that made Fox's ears burn. Her hands traced paths across her body, following the curves of her sides and then flaring out at the hips and slowly rising above her head. She turned then, her front facing Fox. He stopped in his tracks as her eyes met his, her gaze hooded as she continued demonstrating her sultry dance to an audience of novices Fox still hadn't noticed. The light caught and glinted off of her brass top and Fox's jaw dropped as her hands traced down the swell of her chest and across her stomach. The drums began to slowly fade away as Krystal finished the dance by splaying her arms and thrusting out her chest. Her hair pooled on her shoulders as she tipped her head back and said something Fox remained too far away to catch.

For a few moments Fox simply stood and tried to understand what he had just seen. A dance to be sure but he had never seen a girl dance like that. It just seemed so...carnal.

"Fox?"

He felt someone poke him in the arm, shaking himself he turned his gaze to Fiora. "Uhhh, yeah?"

Fiora gave him an amused look. "Should I get you some cold water for you to pour on yourself?"

Fox blushed even more at her suggestion. "Uhh no. I think I'll be...what was that?"

Fiora quirked an eyebrow. "A mating dance. Krystal's well known for her skill at those. So's mother. Funny though..." Fiora trailed off a bit, looking confused.

"What?" Fox inquired, curious what the vixen might be thinking.

"It's nothing. I just thought they were practicing the harvest dance this week." Fiora shrugged and beckoned him on. "Come on, why don't we ask?"

Fox could think of a dozen reasons why he'd rather not, but then none of them were very good reasons, just reasons to spare him a bit bloodflow to the ears. Following Fiora across the stone floor of the temple Fox noted the presence of warriors near the walls. They mostly stood and chatted, though Fox had the feeling that their telepathy was hard at work scanning for threats despite their casual appearance. At least he hoped that they were doing that.

As they approached Krystal and her charges Fiora waved and called out, "Sister!"

Krystal turned away from where she stood guiding one of the girls through a set of arm motions. Waving back she smiled as they got closer. "Fiora. I see you found Fox."

"Yes. He was wondering what that dance was actually." Fiora mentioned much to Fox's dismay.

"Really?" Krystal asked, eyebrow quirking and and tail swishing behind her.

"Uh yeah. I guess I kinda was." Fox's hand moved involuntarily to scratch at the back of his neck.

Krystal smiled and explained, "It's one of our many mating dances. One of the more sensual to be sure. Mother has us doing the hotter, sweatier ones at the moment."  
>Fiora eyed her sister suspiciously before saying, "I'm sure you had nothing to do with that."<p>

"Not this time." Krystal answered, her smile never fading. "Mother thinks it best we do something more intensive and distracting than the harvest dances right now. Keep everyone's mind busy."

As if on cue Sapphire appeared from a room just off of where the group stood. She smiled widely and wagged her tail as she approached. "So this is Fox. I haven't seen him since you two girls rescued him and brought him to the house. He certainly cleans up nice." She eyed him up and down as she said the last.

"Um. Thanks?" Fox offered, feeling just a bit nervous. His nose was picking up on Krystal's scent, the musk clearly indicating just how much she enjoyed doing those dances. He did his best not to be distracted however, the scent was hardly unfamiliar to him. Though coming from Krystal...

"Mother." Krystal said as she rolled her eyes. "Must you say things like that?"

Sapphire just wagged her tail even more. "I merely speak the truth. How go the dances?"

"Well." Krystal answered. "Though I'm afraid I'm going to have to abandon you. I promised to help Fox choose a weapon today."

"Oh." Sapphire sighed, looking downcast. "Must you?"

"Yes I must." Krystal's muzzle curled in a smirk. "And don't pretend you aren't eager to instruct the novices in these dances yourself. You came up with one or two of them."

"Three actually. I won your father with the third. He nearly caught on fire I got him so..."

"Mother!" Both Krystal and Fiora cried out, terror on their faces.

Sapphire just smirked and crossed her arms. "How did I raise such prudes? Go on then. I'll take care of things here. Why don't you help me Fiora? You have the figure for it you know."

Fiora took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Fine. I know a few of the dances. Just...don't make me do any of the ones you came up with. Krystal is better at those. She was doing one when we came in."

"Really?" Sapphire looked confused though at the same time pleased. "Why? I thought I told you to show them the basic ones first."

Fox saw Krystal begin to blush. He suddenly got the feeling that that dance had really been meant for someone other than the novices to see. And it might also have explained her scent a bit more, though it had begun to fade since her mother arrived.

"Nevermind. Come on Fox, let's get you sorted." Krystal said, walking off quickly, tail making a move to try and tuck between her legs. She just managed to stop it. Just.

Fox smiled as he looked back at Fiora and Sapphire."I guess I'll see you ladies later?"

Fiora returned his smile. "I'll probably try and catch up with you and Krystal at some point. If I can get out of mother's clutches."

Sapphire's expression became surprisingly solemn. "Good luck choosing a weapon Fox. Though I hope you don't end up needing it."

"Thanks. Better go now." Fox turned and walked as fast as he could after Krystal. Just before he got out of earshot he heard Sapphire saying to Fiora, "He is a handsome one." _Damn. _Thought Fox. _I wonder if this is a familial thing, or if the women around here are all this...wait stop! They're telepaths! Don't think it!_

When he exited the temple he found Krystal waiting for him. She seemed recovered from her brief embarrassment at the hands of her sister, and her scent had faded back to normal, though it remained slightly strengthened by the sweat on her body. She smiled at him as he caught up with her. "So, did you sleep well?"

Fox nodded as the two began making their way through the town to the training fields. "Yeah. Pretty good. I slept a little later than I usually do though. New planets play havoc with my sleep cycle."

"Well that's to be expected." Krystal agreed. "Hopefully it gets better. You aren't too tired though?"

Fox shook his head and gave her a reassuring smile. "No, I'm fine. I've gone days without sleep and still managed. And I'm excited to try my hand at your weapons."

Krystal returned his smile and wagged her tail. "Your enthusiasm bodes well. Our weapons are not like yours."

"I get that impression." Fox replied, looking about and observing the weapons that the warriors carried. Fox found it almost surreal seeing men and women armed for combat carrying swords and magic staves. Well, perhaps not really magic, but the ability to cause seismic waves with them qualified in his mind. Slippy would love to get his hands on one, it would probably be a treasure trove of information.

When they approached the training fields Krystal turned right and headed for a large building on the street. They paused at the door, two warriors stood outside of it. The guards, one male, the other female, and both with blue fur, barred the passage with their staves. The female stepped forward and said, "Your business? Krystal Zonoc."

"I am here to arm our guest. He needs a weapon." Krystal responded without hesitation.

The vixen glanced at Fox, looking him up and down. Fox felt a brief tickle in his mind, and for a moment he thought he heard whispers. The sounds and sensation faded as quickly as they appeared and the guards unbarred the passage. "You may enter."

Krystal nodded and motioned for Fox to follow her inside. When the door shut behind them Fox said, "Did she prope my mind?"

"Yes." Krystal answered matter of factly. "Just enough to gain an impression of your intent. Now, we should see about selecting something for you here."

Fox looked around the room they stood in. His eyebrows raised as he observed the kind of weapons stored within. Racks on the three walls held a different variety of weapon each. On the far wall were staves, to the right swords, and to the left bows and arrows. Fox stepped closer to the bows and picked one up. The craftsmanship was exquisite. Etchings spiraled along the wood, and the string was taught. "This is nice. How often do your people use these though?"

Standing next to him Krystal shrugged. "Not very much. Archery is generally a method of simple competition. Though we use them for hunting. Emerald and Suri are both accomplished huntresses, and they usually represent Tenked in the annual archery competitions."

"I see." Fox placed the bow back where he found it. "Not much good against a modern army though."

"We are well aware of that." Krystal huffed, crossing her arms.

"Sorry." Fox said, holding up his hands."I didn't mean to insult you."

"No it's fine." Krystal answered, uncrossing her arms. "My people have not had war in a long time. We do not concern ourselves with the creation of ever bigger and better means to destroy with. We hunt with the bow so that we do not damage the forests. Now come, the staves will be more to your liking. Assuming you are more to their liking."

Fox followed Krystal towards the staff weapons. "What do you mean 'their' liking?"

Krystal smiled softly at that. Running a hand down the line of alloy staves she selected one and pulled it from the rack. Her hands gently stroked it, and her eyes closed briefly. "These weapons, with the exception of the bows, are meant to be wielded by a single owner. All of these staves and swords are currently without a bonded warrior, they have no partner through which they can exercise the powers within them."

"What kind of powers?" Fox asked, his expression one of rapt attention.

"A staff can do many things, and what it will achieve is dependant on its owner. I can wield any ability thanks to the strength of my telepathy. Both my parents, my mother especially, are exceptionally gifted in the powers of the mind." Krystal explained, her eyes on Fox. "I can summon an icy wind that could freeze a person to the bone. I can cause a groundquake capable of shattering every piece of glass in this town. Fire a ball of plasma that would burn through combat armor. Even open sacred portals and propel myself upward a short distance. Not all can use these abilities, and few as readily as I can. For most they will be limited to one or two of all the things this staff can do. Decius for instance struggles to summon anything but the fire blaster."

"What about me? I'm not a telepath." Fox mentioned, looking excited nonetheless. The abilities she had described were, in a word, awesome.

Krystal stepped forward, closing the distance between them. "I'm not sure. I think I might be able to bond you to one of these weapons. After that it should just be a matter of you being willing to let the weapon latch onto a part of your mind. A small part, you'll barely notice it. Put your hands on mine."

After a moment of hesitation Fox put his hands over hers, wrapping his fingers around them. Her fur felt warm to the touch, even in the tropical heat of Cerinia. "What next?"

"Close your eyes." Krystal instructed. "Empty your mind as best you can. I'll do the rest."

Letting his eyes fall shut Fox cleared his mind, letting his thoughts slip away. As his mind fell into a comforting blackness he felt Krystal's hands slip out from under his, then his fingers wrapped around the staff, her fingers on the backs of his hands. A blue light entered his mind, and he heard whispers like the ones he had heard when the vixen outside probed his mind. Then a loud clattering pierced the silence and Fox's eyes shot open. Krystal's gaze met his as they both jumped at the sound.

"What was that?" Fox asked as the two of them looked to where the noise had come from. A sword lay on the wooden floor, a faint green glow emanating from the gem at the bottom of the handle.

Krystal stepped towards the weapon. "Amazing." She breathed before looking back to him. "Put the staff back. Someone else wants you."

Fox did as he was told, though he felt a bit confused by what Krystal said. Someone else? Curious what she meant he joined Krystal by the sword."What do you mean? I thought we were going to bond me to a staff."

"So did I." Krystal nodded, her gaze on the sword. It was a handsome blade. A gold plated, gently curving crossguard with an emerald like gem at the bottom of a leather covered handle. The blade itself, roughly a meter long, shone in the sunlight that streamed through the windows above them. "Pick it up."

Fox knelt down and wrapped his hand around the handle. The green glow of the emerald flashed and Fox grunted, a stinging sensation traveled up his arm from his hand, and he felt something enter his mind. He heard none of the whispers of another mind however, just a thrumming of power, and a certain presence. Fox stood up and held the sword in front of him, looking at it with awe. "It's...alive. Isn't it?"

"Yes." Krystal smiled, looking overjoyed at Fox's comprehension. "Though more in the manner that a tree or a fern is alive. Or perhaps a jellyfish." Fox gave her a questioning look so she explained a bit more. "It is not intelligent, not thinking. It runs on instinct, for thought and judgement it will rely on you. You must be responsible for wielding its blade and any other powers you might one day tease out of it. Now go on, give it a practice swing."

With a smile Fox moved a few paces away and swung the blade through the air in an arc. The blade whistled through the air as Fox gave it a few more swings. It felt light enough that Fox could train with it for hours before his arm began to tire. "Nice." Fox said with a nod. "What kind of magical powers does this one have?"

Krystal shrugged. "Fiora can summon lightning thats shoot from the tip. It's a common ability with a _zaud_, her type of sword. That one is a _wedteh_ though."

"Meaning?" Fox asked, thrusting the blade forward and doing his best to remember the fencing classes he had once taken with Fara.

"You will be able to summon the fire of _ukcu_, an island that first forged that style of blade. They sank beneath the oceans long ago, their blades are all that remain. And the fire that they can summon." Krystal responded, eyeing him happily as he continued to practice with the blade. His enthusiasm was encouraging, she had worried a sword would displease him. Too primitive. She felt happy to be proven wrong.

"So it can be a flamethrower?" Fox looked at the blade admiringly.

Krystal looked at Fox with amusement and thought _Boys_. "I give you a magical sword and the first thing you ask is if it's really a flamethrower."

Fox chuckled and turned to look at her. "Sorry. So what kind of fire does it summon?"

"A kind similar to a staff's fire blaster. A ball of concentrated plasma." Krystal paused for a moment, a thought occurring to her that might help turn some of Fox's endearingly boyish enthusiasm into real determination. "If you become especially adept you might be able to turn that into a stream, though I've never encountered or even heard of any who could. Not since the last descendants of _ukcu_ died. Who knows though? Perhaps you'll impress me. " Krystal put a gentle note of challenge in her voice.

Fox's tail wagged and he met her eyes."I guess we'll see. I took some fencing a few years back, but I'll probably need to practice with someone who knows their stuff."

Krystal turned back to the sword rack to grab the blade's scabbard. "Fiora will be thrilled to help. And I can certainly help you master the bond enough to summon the fire blaster." She handed him the belt and scabbard and waited for Fox to put it on and sheath his sword. "Now, why don't we head to the training fields to have some proper practice?"

"Sounds good." Fox answered, following her out of the armory. He rested a hand on the hilt of his new blade. He felt a slight vibration from it, as if it felt a degree of satisfaction at his eagerness to continue wielding it. Perhaps it did, being a living blade after all.

"How long do you think it will take for me to able to summon the fire blaster?" Fox inquired, walking alongside her.

"Hard to say." Krystal answered, smiling patiently. She could feel his eagerness, it tickled her mind in a way that began to make it contagious. "You might have to be patient."

Fox frowned. "Patience isn't exactly my strong suit."

Krystal smiled and laughed. She had a sweet laugh now that he listened to it. Musical. "Don't worry. I'm sure I can keep you entertained in the meantime."

She brushed her tail against his leg at the last before sauntering ahead, hips swaying. Fox could see just the subtlest arch to her tail, not quite enough to be an open invitation, but enough that it gave Fox pause. Shaking his head and trying not to smile he followed her towards the training fields, there would be time enough to sort out those things later.

A shadow began passing over the town then, and both Fox and Krystal looked up to find the source of it. A ship flew past, heading for the landing field. Krystal put a hand to her brow and watched it pass before saying, "That ship belongs to the Najo."

Fox stopped beside her. "Who?"

Krystal glanced at him. "Najo. They're one of the seven Houses of Cerinia. Renowned for their wisdom, they united the clans through their exploration of the islands."

"Do we like them?" Fox asked, curious.

"Yes." Krystal answered with a chuckle. "They've always been firm allies of House Zonoc. They often travel on our trade ships in order to gather information about our neighboring systems."

The two began walking towards the training fields again. "Spies then?"

"No." Krystal shook her head. "They're explorers. Wise men and women. They are allies but I believe they will oppose war. They're very fervent pacifists."

"Hmmm." Fox hummed. Pacifists. He respected those that thought war a thing to be avoided. Having fought in more than his fair share of battles he could understand why people would want to prevent them, he always did his best to. But in this case he hoped they wouldn't prove an obstacle. He doubted Cerinia had a peaceful path at this point. "How many Houses do you think will vote for war?"

Krystal sighed and thought for a moment. "I don't know. I can't imagine any of them. Perhaps the Jkehm and Rukkco. They have the strongest warrior traditions. But the Jkehm are not allies with us."

"The Rukkco?"

"Allies. But our most tenuous." Krystal answered. "We shall have to wait and see."

She sensed Fox's irritation at her answer. No, patience did not seem to be his strong suit. He appeared more the type who preferred to leap without looking, dealing with things as they came and worrying about the potential consequences later. This she could understand, her sister Fiora being much the same way. Krystal possessed a bit more of the patience of her father, but now, knowing the threats that loomed over Cerinia, Krystal had a feeling that even her patience would begin to wear thin eventually. And the question of what she might do for her people, what lengths she would be willing to go to in order to save them, hung over her thoughts like a dark cloud. She hoped she would not have to know the answer, even if she feared she would have no choice but to face it, and soon.

* * *

><p>AN: I actually managed to get this chapter up before the new year, yay! This one, as you may have noticed, ran a bit longer than the others, so hopefully you all enjoyed an even hardier dose of Cerinia, romance, and Krystal being her sexy self.

I'm hoping to get the next few chapters up a little faster than usual now that I'm on vacation for the next few weeks, so please do keep an eye out for them, or drop a follow if you haven't already. Until then leave a review to tell me what you thought, and have a happy new year!

-general whitefur


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